AROUND OUA: Seniors come through for Gee-Gees in emotional 2-1 win over Carleton

The no. 3 ranked Gee-Gees women's soccer team clinched a playoff spot with a 2-1 win on home field over the Carleton Ravens on Saturday afternoon. The Gee-Gees now hold a 10-0-3 record and lead the OUA East with three road games remaining in the regular season.

On a day which recognized the four graduating senior members of the squad, each one made a contribution to the outcome. Pilar Khoury and Julia Francki were part of the tremendous offensive pressure which forced Carleton to take four yellow cards in the game in efforts to stop the speedy seniors. The keeper tandem of Cynthia Leblanc and Mélissa Pésant closed the door on Carleton until the 88^th minute, when a Veronica Mazzella corner kick bent into the far corner.

The Gee-Gees broke through with a goal by Hannah Landry in the 60^th minute, part of a series of plays which saw Ottawa dominate an otherwise even match. Anika Littlemore put up a looping free kick into the box, where first Khoury and then Landry got their bodies on it to cause confusion for keeper Rada Mintehan.

Khoury followed up almost immediately, once again camped out in front of the Carleton net for a close range score in minute 64.

Both Francki and Khoury also saw strong chances clang off of the goalposts during the game. It was an emotional day for the pair, who had the chance to thank family, friends, and coaches in a pre-game ceremony.

The Gee-Gees season will continue with a mid-week game at Royal Military College on Wednesday night. The Paladins are 1-10-0 on the year and Ottawa earned a 6-0 win in the teams' first meeting of the season. 

Source: Ottawa Gee-Gees

Blues unlucky in loss to Voyageurs

The University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's soccer team dropped a 2-1 decision to the visiting Laurentian Voyaguers on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 17) at Varsity Centre.

The Blues opened the game quickly with the first chance on net in the sixth minute when a cross was greeted by a host of Blues in the box. U of T was able to get two strikes in during the scramble but came up with the crossbar and post.

Both teams continued to exchange possession in the early goings until the 15th minute when the Voyageurs capitalized on a corner opportunity. Laurentian sent the kick into the box where a header sent the ball directly to the foot of Megan Ferguson, who finished things off to take the 1-0 lead.

Despite trailing, U of T kept the pressure on the Voyageurs for much of the half. Blues leading scorer Natasha Klasios nearly tied things up in the 32nd minute with a long strike that went off the crossbar. Two minutes later veteran striker Brenda Murillo found second-year midfielder Alexandra Rocha streaking down the middle of the pitch; however the shot would go just wide hitting the side mesh.

As the half drew to a close, Laurentian extended their lead when striker Sarah Sanford took a long pass and worked her way through the Blues defence for an open shot, which she was able to slide past Blues goalkeeper Sara Petrucci.

The second half became a stalemate between the two squads with the majority of possession battles occurring in the midfield until the 75th minute. Off a cross from her sister Olivia Gonsalves, Julia Gonsalves found the back of the net to put the Blues on the board.

However, as the comeback would look to be on its way, the unlucky streak would show up again in the final minute of action. Klasios found herself with an opportunity to score as a beautiful cross found its way to her right in front of the goalkeeper, but the shot would once again find the woodwork handing the decision to the Voyageurs.

The Varsity Blues are right back at it tomorrow afternoon (Oct. 18) welcoming the Nipissing Lakers to Varsity Centre at 12 p.m. Before the game the Blues will be honouring their graduating players. Catch all the action live on OUA.tv.

Source: Toronto Varsity Blues

Rams earn big three points in win over Lakers

TORONTO - In nearly a must win game to keep their playoff hopes alive, the Ryerson Rams women's soccer team put together a solid performance to earn a 3-1 victory over the Nipissing Lakers on Saturday afternoon at Downsview Park.

The Rams entered the contest in eighth place in the standings and seven points out of the final playoff position held by Nipissing. With the win, the Rams are now just four points back with three games remaining.

Hanna Park (Markham, Ont.) opened the scoring in the 14th minute when she took advantage of a sloppy pass from the foot of a Lakers defender by curling it into the top left corner. 

Park's goal would hold up at halftime as the Rams led 1-0 through 45 minutes.

"In the past we haven't done our job of capitalizing on our opponents mistakes so today it was nice to see that we did that," commented assistant coach Tina Cook following the game.

In the 59th minute Alessia Carvalho (Newmarket, Ont.) scored her first OUA goal when she crashed the net hard and potted a loose ball to double the Rams lead at 2-0.

Substitute midfielder Alex Pittiglio (Maple, Ont.) came on for a brief stint but was effective in her time as she added an insurance marker in the 81st minute after a persistent effort from Maria Poveda (Mississauga, Ont.) left a free ball for Pittiglio to tap in.

Sensing how important this game could be to their season too, the Lakers didn't back down and were able to get on the board in the 85th minute on a strike from Delaney Borsato. Nipissing continued to press following the goal but they were unable to complete a come back as the Rams took the game, 3-1.

The Rams improve to 4-7-2 on the season while Nipissing drops to 5-5-3. Ryerson will be back in action on Sunday when they host the Laurentian Voyageurs who own an 8-3-2 record and sit in second place. Kickoff goes at 12:00 p.m. at Downsview Park.

Source: Ryerson Rams

Miller shines in net but Gryphons fall 2-0 to Marauders

Guelph, ON- Saturday afternoon (Oct 17) at the Gryphon Soccer Complex the Gryphons Women's Soccer team came out on the losing end of a 2-0 score line against visiting McMaster Marauders. After their fifth loss in a row, the Gryphons drop to 6-8-0 while the Marauders improve to 6-5-3.
 
Gryphon goalkeeper, Holly Miller was simply outstanding on the day, diving to the bottom and top right in the 61^st and 62^nd minutes, respectively. She kept her team in the game, making terrific saves and not allowing anything to get by her until the 75^th minute. Shortly after Miller had deflected a powerful shot out of harm's way, the Marauders would open the scoring in the 77th minute off a corner when a scramble inside the six-yard box ended with McMaster's senior defender, Sofia Ykema getting the ball across the line to give McMaster a 1-0 lead. Minutes later Jessie Faber fired a shot from the top of the box into the Gryphon net making it 2-0 and that is how the game would finish. Guelph has not sored a goal in the last five losses, but will look to get back on track on Oct 23 when they visit third place Wilfrid Laurier (9-2-1).

Source: Guelph Gryphons

Laurier plays to 0-0 draw with Windsor

WATERLOO, Ont. (October 17, 2015) – The No. 5 Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks women's soccer team was held to a 0-0 draw by the Windsor Lancers Saturday evening at University Stadium.

In what was a fairly even match, both teams had three corner kick attempts in the contest while the Lancers held a slight edge in shot attempts, outshooting the host Hawks 15-14.

Despite her dominance on the field as she attempted five shot attempts during the game, Emily Brown of Waterloo, Ont., was unable to get a shot past Windsor keeper Krystin Lawrence of Tecumseh, Ont. Matching Lawrence's clean sheet was Laurier keeper Ashley Almeida of Burlington, Ont. Both keepers would finish the day with seven saves.

The tie has Laurier holding onto third position (9-2-2) in the OUA West Division, while Windsor sits in sixth (5-8-1).

Next up for the Hawks is a home game against the McMaster Marauders on Sunday, October 18. Kick-off is set for 1 p.m. at University Stadium.

Source: Laurier Golden Hawks