AROUND OUA: Voyageurs victory moves them up in the standings
The UOIT Ridgebacks came into Sudbury on Sunday two points ahead of the Laurentian Voyageurs in the East division. In a high pressure situation, the girls came together to shut down their opponents and take the game 1-0.
SCOREBOARD
Voyageurs victory moves them up in the standings
The UOIT Ridgebacks came into Sudbury on Sunday two points ahead of the Laurentian Voyageurs in the East division. In a high pressure situation, the girls came together to shut down their opponents and take the game 1-0.
The only goal came in the first, eight minutes into the game. The Voyageurs were awarded a throw in, which Allison Pilon took and passed it in to Catherine Rocca. Laurentian displayed a great use of their heads as Rocca passed it with her head to Brianne Rodrigue. She put the ball in with her own head as well, giving her two goals in as many games this weekend. Laurentian got ahead early on the score board but there was a lot of time left to play.
In her first game back since being injured on September 20th, Richele Greenwood worked her way to a shut out. Although not having to face much as the Voyageurs' defence was able to handle UOIT. The Ridgebacks were only able to muster two shots on goal the entire game, a great way for the team to welcome back their starting goalkeeper.
After taking their early lead, the girls mindset clearly shifted. Late in the season, with each point being important, Laurentian was able to successfully shift their attention from scoring to shutting down the other team.
On seniors day, the veteran players could not be more proud of their team as well as the offensive plays that came from the younger girls. Fourth year Amy Fitzgerald had this to say about her team and their season, "Being a senior, its nice to see the hard work over the past four years pay off. We have a wonderful group of hardworking girls who are egar to win a home playoff game and I hope that our successes continue through the remainder of the season. I have full confidence in my team and see us going far."
By picking up three points against the Ridgebacks, Laurentian now moves into the second position in the division. The Voyageurs remain seven points back of the Ottawa Gee Gees with four games left in the regular season. The girls will finish off the rest of their games on the road, playing against Toronto, Ryerson, Queens and RMC. First up, Laurentian will take on Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday, October 17 at 12:00pm at the Varsity Centre.
Source: Laurentian Voyageurs
Roberts and Carboni nab hat tricks as Mac beats Algoma
Young strikers padded their offensive numbers on Sunday, as the Marauders pounded the Thunderbirds 11-0 in the second half of their weekend doubleheader at Ron Joyce Stadium.
Rookie forwards Maila Carboni and Steph Roberts each notched a hat-trick in the landslide victory, while Marisa Bremner, Maureen Mai, Jessie Faber, Amy Froome and Emma Czernuszka each added a single goal to the Marauders tally.
With the win, McMaster improves to 5-5-3 on the season, and pulls into a tie with the Guelph Gryphons for fourth position in the OUA West standings, having played one additional game. The Marauders will meet the Gryphons twice in their final three matches of the regular season, with the right to host a divisional quarterfinal game on the line.
A day after a lopsided result in their first meeting, the teams re-established that dynamic quickly on Sunday, as Bremner netted Mac's first goal just 47 seconds into the game. Mai potted their second seven minutes later, and the floodgates were officially open.
A favourite striking option of the Marauders this season, Roberts scored consecutive goals in the 13th and 29th minutes to make her impression on the blowout, while Carboni and Faber heaped further misery on the visitors to give Mac a 6-0 lead at the interval.
The goals showed no sign of stopping as the second half began, with Carboni grabbing her second just six minutes after the restart, and the substitute Froome finding the back of the net seven minutes later. Carboni would complete her hat trick in the 65th minute, while Roberts did the same in the 75th.
Another sub, Czernuszka brought a merciful end to the barrage in the 86th, as McMaster capped an extraordinary offensive performance.
Tougher competition, and playoff implications, loom for the Marauders in a week's time, as they travel to Guelph for the first of the two aforementioned meeting with the Gryphons on Saturday, October 17.
Source: McMaster Marauders
Victory gives Lakers a four-point weekend
The Nipissing Lakers women's soccer team gave their home fans one more thing to cheer about Sunday afternoon, finishing off the home portion of the season with a 3-1 win.
After a 0-0 draw Saturday versus UOIT, the Lakers welcomed the Trent Excalibur to town and made sure they secured three points by controlling the game from start to finish and picking up the win.
Nipissing got things going pretty early in the game, setting the tone with a goal by Delaney Borsato to put them up 1-0 in the 14th minute.
Trent responded fairly quickly, tying the game less than 10 minutes later on a questionable call that resulted in a penalty kick.
At the other end of the pitch, the official awarded another penalty kick, this time to the Lakers and Selena Innamorati made no mistake to regain the lead for Nipissing.
The game remained 2-1 heading into the half, but once again, a quick goal – just 12 minutes into the second half – the Lakers extended their lead.
Veteran Katie Koenjer rifled a shot to the top shelf to give the Lakers a two goal cushion. They locked things down from there and came away with a key three points.
Carlee Bennard played 75 minutes, picking up the win, while Kelly Dunk closed things out for the final 15 minutes.
With the win, the Lakers moved closer to a playoff spot, sitting just one point behind Toronto for sixth place in the East Division.
Nipissing (5-4-3) will now finish the season on the road, playing four more away from home beginning with a trip to Toronto next weekend to face Ryerson (3-7-2) and Toronto (6-5-1).
Source: Nipissing Lakers
Ravens beat Ryerson, extend unbeaten streak to 6 games
(OTTAWA, ON) — It was a desirable outcome in the final regular season home game of 2015, as the Carleton Ravens women's soccer team defeated the Ryerson Rams by a final of 3-0.
It was a difficult start for the Ravens as they started slowly and nearly gifted the Rams an early lead. Hannah Park had two breakaways in a matter of minutes, but the chances were squandered by two unbelievable saves by Ravens goalie Elizabeth MacDougall (Carleton Place, ON).
It took nearly half an hour, but Carleton got on the board in the 29th minute when co-captain Sarah Royer unleashed a long-range bomb from nearly 25-yards out which beat the Rams goaltender Brittney Clendenan, who was off of her line. It was a deflating goal for the Rams who had done a nice job of possessing the ball in the first half, only to be punished on the Ravens' first shot on goal.
Despite leading by a 1-0 scoreline after forty-five minutes, the Ravens were out chanced by an aggressive Ryerson team. Carleton seemed to lack the fluidity and control they had shown in the victory over Toronto the previous day.
The second half began as the first half had ended with Ryerson pushing for an equalizer. The Ravens fended off a few chances by the Rams and started countering with their own offensive attack. Kaitlyn Balfour (Kingston, ON) was inserted into the game to inject some pace into the lineup, while Emily Copeland-Dinan (Ottawa, ON) moved into an attacking role as the lone striker.
Carleton's adjustments worked well as they started pressuring the Rams defenders and creating scoring chances. In the 64th minute, Tina Lacava (Markham, ON) finally gave the Ravens the second goal they desired. Lacava was sprung down the wing on a low through ball and her first touch put her in an advantageous position to move in on goal. With a hard strike across the goaltender, the 5th year midfielder found the back of the net to increase Carleton's lead to 2-0.
A two-goal advantage turned the momentum in favour of the Ravens. As a result, the Rams started to lose focus. An innocent looking lob into the 18-yard box from Carleton turned out to be the final straw for Ryerson. Rams goaltender Brittney Clendenan fumbled the catch where 2nd-year Ravens forward Emily Copeland-Dinan was conveniently standing. In disbelief, Copeland-Dinan briefly hesitated with the ball at her feet before easily scoring her team's third goal of the game in the 83rd minute.
"We had a bit of nervousness at the beginning and it took us some time to get going," said head coach Raz El-Asmar after his team's victory. "Our game plan changed early on, but fortunately we got that goal from Royer before the half."
"We settled in after [Royer's goal], but it wasn't our best performance," added El-Asmar. "The good news is that we got the three points."
With the win over Ryerson, Carleton (6-4-3) is now riding a 6-game unbeaten streak. Ryerson drops to 3-7-2 on the season.
Carleton's recent run of success will be put to the ultimate test against the CIS's #2 ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees next Saturday. Carleton and Ottawa tied 0-0 in their first meeting of the season on September 26th.
Source: Carleton Ravens
Gee-Gees strong in second half again, defeat Toronto, 4-1
The uOttawa Gee-Gees added another win to their impressive 2015 season record, defeating the University of Toronto Varsity Blues 4-1 at Matt Anthony Field on Sunday afternoon. The Gee-Gees once again emerged from a passive first 45 minutes and scored four goals in the second half en route to victory.
The first half saw little offensive action from either side, as both teams played a tight defensive game. Ottawa's best chance came off of a free kick from Julia Francki in the 44th minute. With a good angle, Francki's strike was just a little too powerful and sailed over top of the net. Ottawa outshot Toronto 5-0 in the first half.
The second half was a much different game for the Gee-Gees. Pilar Khoury was dominant for Ottawa in the opening minutes. In the 49th minute, Khoury raced down the left side of the field and fired a laser to the right side, beating Varsity Blues' goaltender Sara Pettucci to give the Gee-Gees a 1-0 lead.
Khoury was at it again two minutes later, deking out Pettucci, who was then forced to drag Khoury down and was called for a yellow card in the 18 yard box. Julia Francki would capitalize on the ensuing penalty kick to extend Ottawa's lead in the 51st minute.
Francki would add another tally in the 69th minute on a beautiful header off of Anika Littlemore's corner kick. Khoury would put the game away in the 75th minute, when she deflected a header from Ellie Cowan that eluded Pettucci in tight.
The Varsity Blues would spoil the shutout bid for Gee-Gees goalkeeper, Cynthia LeBlanc, as Alexandra Rocha found the ball in a rebound scrum at the goal mouth and squeaked it past the goal line in the 85th minute.
The Gee-Gees remain undefeated on the season and their record improves to 9-0-3. With a third consecutive loss, the Varsity Blues fall to 6-5-1.
Source: Ottawa Gee-Gees
