SCOREBOARD

Guelph 1 @ Western 0

Carleton 2 @ UOIT 0

Queen's 1 @ Toronto 0

Windsor 2 @ McMaster 1

Mustangs edged out by Gryphons in OUA playoffs

LONDON, Ont. – A goal from midfielder Ann-Carolyn Lang in the 11th minute proved to be the difference as the Guelph Gryphons defeated the Western Mustangs women's soccer team 1-0 on Wednesday night at Mustangs Field. Guelph's win eliminates Western from the OUA playoffs and sends the Gryphons to the OUA Quarterfinals on Sunday afternoon.
 
Having beat Guelph twice during regular season play, the loss was a surprise for fans of the purple and white.
 
"Sometimes, sports can be cruel," said Western head coach Martin Painter. "I don't think we played poorly. I don't think that if you look at the game you can say that we deserve to lose, but sometimes that's how it goes."
 
Lang's goal came early in the contest as she was given the ball at the top of the 18-yard-box and after taking a touch, she struck it into the back of the Western net to give the Gryphons the lead.
 
Aside from the goal against, the Mustangs had control of the play during the first half, pinning the Gryphons in their own end of the field for minutes at a time.
 
Painter said teams, including the Gryphons, have been anticipating Western's strong offence. To compensate, the Gryphons played tough on defence, filling their own 18-yard-box with players in red and making it extra difficult for the Mustangs to get chances. Western took three shots during the first 45 minutes, but none resulted in goals.
 
In hopes of moving on to the quarterfinals, the Mustangs spent the second half trying to erase the deficit. They forced eight corner kicks compared to Guelph's one, and sent numerous crosses into the Gryphon box, but unfortunately for the home team none of those chances resulted in goals, giving Guelph a 1-0 win.
 
"We got on the end of some, and then when we did just the final product was just a little bit lacking," said Painter. "It's just a little bit of magic we needed, and we couldn't get it, unfortunately."
 
Despite an early departure from the playoffs, Painter had nothing but positive things to share when reflecting about the way his team played this season.
 
"[They're] fantastic. Very proud. They're a great team. Every game we've played we've been the better team. Had the ball more, created more shots, created more crosses, created more corners. Unfortunately, our record doesn't reflect that, but it's been a fantastic year, a fantastic group of girls to work with."

Source: Western Mustangs

Ravens battle through UOIT and the weather to advance in OUA playoffs

(OSHAWA, ON) — The sixth-ranked Carleton Ravens battled through torrential rain showers to earn a massive OUA East quarter-final away playoff victory over the third-place UOIT Ridgebacks on Wednesday evening.

Vanessa Germano (Ottawa, ON) and Tina Lacava (Markham, ON) each scored a goal to help the Ravens advance to the OUA East semi-finals.

Carleton showed determination in the game's opening minutes as they applied strong pressure on the Ridgebacks defence to establish the early lead.

In the 6th minute, third-year midfielder Vanessa Germano scored her first goal of the playoffs and her third goal this season after she tucked in a rebound given up by the UOIT goalie following a low, hard cross from Abby Nicastro (Ottawa, ON).

UOIT worked tirelessly to equalize after the Ravens go-ahead tally, but Carleton was able to make it to the halftime whistle with the 1-0 advantage, all while battling through the elements in the process.

The Ridgebacks came out firing in the second half, but Ravens keeper Elizabeth MacDougall (Carleton Place, ON) remained calm under pressure and was able to make a few saves to keep UOIT at bay.

The Ravens defence was nearly impenetrable as the back four forced UOIT into several long-distance shots that either went high or wide of the net.

With the game clock approaching 90 minutes, and the Ravens desperately trying to prevent the tying goal, they finally were able to put the the contest away for good.

Tori MacFarlane (Kars, ON) collected the ball in the Ravens zone and delivered a great breakout pass to winger Abby Nicastro. Nicastro took a few dribbles at midfield before spotting Tina Lacava making a run in behind the defence. Nicastro delivered a sublime 30-yard through ball past the Ridgebacks' last defender and perfectly into the diagonal run of Lacava who made a quick move around the goalie before firing it into the empty net.

Carleton would fend off the last UOIT attempts to end the Ridgebacks' season.

"Anything can happen in the playoffs," said head coach Raz El-Asmar following his team's impressive shutout victory. "Full credit to the players on the field and the girls who came off of the bench."

The team overcame mother nature's wrath and the cold to secure their win.

"I was proud of the team for maintaining their focus throughout the day," said El-Asmar, whose team faced the the possibility of a cancelled game due to the inclement weather. "We knew going in that it wasn't going to be pretty out there."

With a difficult game behind them, the road only becomes tougher for Carleton. The Ravens will head back to Ottawa to take on the CIS #3 ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees at Matt Anthony Field on Sunday afternoon. The winner will progress to the OUA Final 4.

Source: Carleton Ravens

Blues suffer season ending loss to Gaels

The University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's soccer team dropped a 1-0 decision in extra time to the Queen's Gaels in OUA quarter-final action Wednesday night (Oct. 28) at Varsity Stadium.

After battling for nearly 120 minutes of scoreless action it was third-year forward Tara Bartram who broke the deadlock for the Gaels in the 25th minute of the second overtime period. The Vancouver native beat off a U of T defender and sent a high ball into the left side of the net.

Fighting through a consistent stream of rain, both teams spent the opening minutes of the game adjusting to the tough conditions. 

The first real scoring opportunity went the way of the Gaels when the ball was sent inside the Varsity Blues box in the 25th minute. However, Queen's was unable to place a boot to the ball during the struggle and U of T escaped unscathed.

Just under 10 minutes later the Gaels once again looked to cause trouble in the Varsity Blues end. A long cross nearly found the foot of a strong Queen's forward but U of T defender Alyssa Golin cut the attack off just in time to spoil the opportunity.

Both teams continued to create scoring chances throughout but for the Blues the 77th minute would see their best chance during regular time. A through ball found its way to a streaking Natasha Klasios but she sent the shot just wide of the left post.

Entering overtime the Gaels came out quickly sending a long shot off the Varsity Blues crossbar within the first minute. However, the Blues would create a similar opportunity in the 10th minute when defender Christine Mulligan sent a free-kick off the Gaels bar.

Fifth-year netminder Sara Petrucci posted three saves in her final game as a Varsity Blue.

Source: Toronto Varsity Blues