AROUND OUA: UOIT earns weekend sweep with 1-0 victory over Varsity Blues

SCOREBOARD

UOIT 1 @ Toronto 0

Trent 1 @ Ryerson 4

Laurentian 0 @ Queen's 2

Nipissing 6 @ RMC 0

Algoma 0 @ Western 10

Brock 0 @ Laurier 6

Guelph 1 @ Waterloo 0

UOIT earns weekend sweep with 1-0 victory over Varsity Blues

TORONTO – The UOIT women's soccer team made it back-to-back victories in Toronto this weekend after a 1-0 shutout over the Toronto Varsity Blues Sunday afternoon.
 
After picking up only one point in their first two games, the Ridgebacks earned all six this weekend as they also beat Ryerson 6-0 on Saturday.
 
UOIT athlete of the week Rhiannon Kissel (Peterborough, Ont.) stood out once again as she scored the game's lone goal, capitalizing off a Toronto miscue in the 8^th minute. The goal was the third of her freshman campaign.
 
After the opening goal, both defensive units would shut down any other scoring opportunity as UOIT earned the one-goal victory. Shots were 11-7 in favour of UOIT with the Ridgebacks outshooting Toronto 6-2 in the first half.
 
Helen Frampton (Toronto) earned the shutout for UOIT, stopping all three shots on goal from her hometown team. Toronto applied a lot of pressure down the stretch that resulted in three corner kicks in the final ten minutes, but Frampton and the defensive unit preserved the shutout.
 
At the other end of the pitch, Tori Edgar stopped five of six UOIT shots on goal.
 
UOIT will be in action on Wednesday night as they take on Durham College in the Campus Cup. UOIT will be looking for the four-peat having won the last three matches against Durham.
 
The Ridgebacks OUA conference schedule will resume on the weekend when they host the Queen's Gaels (Saturday) and RMC Paladins (Sunday) at Vaso's Field. Both games begin at 1 p.m.

Source: UOIT Ridgebacks

Rams offence explodes in win over Trent

TORONTO – The Ryerson Rams women's soccer team found their scoring touch on Sunday morning, piling up four goals to defeat the visiting Trent Excalibur 4-1 at Monarch Park Stadium.

BOXSCORE

It didn't take the Rams long to find the back of the net as Sydney Sica (Niagara Falls, Ont.) scored her first OUA goal in just the third minute of play. Ryerson's lead doubled as Alessia Carvalho (Newmarket, Ont.) pounced on a rebound from a Jalen Simms (Toronto) strike in the 7th minute.

The Excalibur got on the board in the 18th minute as Kaitlyn Steffler was able to create space on her own and find the bottom corner to make it 2-1.

The scoring parade continued just seven minutes later when Sierra Clancy took advantage of a turnover at the top of the 18 yard box and lofted the ball into the top of the net to restore the Rams two-goal lead.

Carvalho finished the scoring in the 30th minute when she got her foot on a great cross from the right flank by Katherine Sollbach (Burlington, Ont.).

The four goals are the most the Rams have scored since October 19, 2014.

Elisa Lapadula (Brampton, Ont.) made five saves as she picked up her second win of the season.

Ryerson (2-2-0) moves to .500 on the season with the win and will return to action next Saturday, September 10 when they take on the Ottawa Gee-Gees in Ottawa.

Source: Ryerson Rams

No. 7 Gaels shut out Laurentian

KINGSTON, Ont. (September 4, 2016) - Head coach Dave McDowell picked up his 300th career win for the Gaels through regular season and playoffs on Sunday afternoon in a 2-0 win over Laurentian Voyageurs on Miklas-McCarney Field.

GAME FLOW
Queen's dominated play in the first half, outshooting the visitors 11-1 through 45 minutes. Just before halftime, the Gaels broke the deadlock when Sarah Nixon (Oakville, Ont.) drove down the right wing and hit the far post with a cross, bouncing straight to Tara Bartram (Vancouver) who finished in the open net. 

After the Gaels controlled much of the second half, Jenny Wolever (Toronto) doubled the tricolour lead in the 85th minute, beating the Laurentian keeper with a strike from the top of the 18 yard box.

BY THE NUMBERS
10 - The Gaels outshot Laurentian 10-1 in shots on target
7 - Jenny Wolever attempted seven shots
2 - Wolever has two goals in the first two games for Queen's

UP NEXT
The Gaels hit the road for the first time with away games at UOIT and Trent next weekend.

Source: Queen's Gaels

Big win over RMC gives Lakers weekend split

It wouldn't be a stretch for the Nipissing Lakers women's soccer team to be 4-0-0 right now after their first two weekends of play.

After a great opening day win over Toronto, the Lakers have dropped two tough games, losing 2-1 to both Ryerson and Queens, in games they could have easily earned points in, but fell just short.

But they put two tough losses behind them and came out flying in Sunday's clash with the RMC Paladins in Kingston.

The Lakers put up six goals, from six different goal scorers on their way to a 6-0 victory over the always-scrappy Paladins.

Nipissing goals came fast and furious from both veterans and rookies alike, showing the team's depth.

Shannon Russell, Kristen Farkas, Andrea Young and Vanessa Rote all found the back of the net, something they have become accustomed to doing at the OUA level, but it was also newcomers that made an impact.

Alicia Hewitt and Megan Clarke both recorded their first OUA goals helping the Lakers even their record at 2-2-0.

Carlee Bennard was back in net, earning her first shutout of the year and bringing her personal record to 2-2-0 so far this season.

Saturday, it was a tight contest all the way through with Nipissing actually holding a 1-0 lead for about 10 minutes late in the first half.

Selena Innamorati scored her second penalty kick goal of the season to put the Lakers up 1-0 in the 29th minute, but two goals by Queens before the half was enough for the Gaels to grab the victory.

Before Sunday's victory, it was Nipissing's third straight game decided by a score of 2-1 - a win versus Toronto and two losses against Ryerson and Queens.

Nipissing will now have a week off before their next action, which comes Sept. 11 in Sudbury versus the Laurentian Voyageurs who also sit at 2-2-0 after defeating RMC Saturday, but falling to Queens Sunday afternoon.

The teams will play the first of their two scheduled games that, along with the men's resuls, will determine the winner of the Riley Gallo Cup for 2016.

Nipissing returns home after four straight road games on Sept. 17 to face UOIT and Trent.

Source: Nipissing Lakers

Boyle and Crnjac combine for six goals as Western tops Algoma

LONDON, Ont. – Amanda Boyle and Julia Crnjac each recorded a hat trick for the second straight game to help lead the Western Mustangs to a 10-0 victory over the Algoma Thunderbirds on Sunday afternoon at Mustangs Field.

"I thought for the most part we kept the ball well, we moved the ball well in the first half," said Mustangs head coach Martin Painter. "Final decisions in some of our finishing could have been better, but that got better towards the end of the game. Credit to Algoma, they fought very hard."

The win marked the end of a two-game series between the two teams over the weekend in which Western took both games, and improves Western to 3-0-2, good for first place in the OUA West Division. The Thunderbirds dropped to 0-4-0 on the season, keeping them in ninth in the West standings.

Boyle opened the scoring for Western at the eight minute mark, later scoring in the 21st and 63rd minutes complete finish the weekend with six goals. Crnjac's goals all came in the second half again on Sunday, including another pair of rapid-fire markers less than a minute apart midway through the final 45.

The Mustangs tallied ten goals in a winning effort, seven of which were scored in the second half. The first half proved to be a tighter played affair than on Saturday, although Western took an early lead thanks to goals from Boyle and Vanessa Guglietti less than 10 minutes into the contest.

The second half turned further in the Mustangs favour, as the shot differential began to pile up with Western . Along with the contributions of Boyle and Crnjac, Western also received goals from Paige Howard, Stefanie Di Tella, and Nikki Balachorek in the final half of the game. Balachorek's marker came courtesty of a fantastic strike and was the first of her CIS career.

"Our biggest strength of our team is our depth," said Painter. "We have 28 girls on the team with a couple injuries, but everyone on the team is a quality player who can contribute. We got to see it this weekend and it's going to be something that we're going to need going forward because we play a lot of games in a short period of time. The fact that we have a lot of players who got some experience this weekend contributing and showing what they can do is is a big positive for us."

Boyle commented on the mentality of the team coming into the weekend, saying that "we were just trying to focus on trying new things.

"It was a good weekend to try and figure out what works with us, what doesn't, and just all-around building up our confidence."

"This year we're definitely looking for a top two finish," said Boyle regarding the potential of this year's squad. "It definitely makes it easier for us when we look up towards nationals to get that bye and be able to face a weaker team."

The Mustangs will be back in action on Sunday, September 11 when they travel to Waterloo to take on the Warriors. Game time is set for 1 p.m.

Source: Western Mustangs

Offence explodes as Golden Hawks defeat Badgers

WATERLOO, Ont. (September 4, 2016) – Without a victory through their first three games of the season, the No. 9 Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks had a statement game on Sunday afternoon as they defeated the Brock Badgers 6-0 at University Stadium.

Fresh off the heels of a close loss Saturday to the No. 5 York Lions, the Hawks (1-1-2) came out firing right away and took the play to the Badgers (1-3-0) on route to a convincing 6-0 win.

A strong first half offensive saw Laurier pot four goals in the first 45 minutes. Hawks defender Jacky Normandeau of Uxbridge Ont., led off the scoring in just the seventh minute of action with her first of the season. Midfielder Katie Bishop of Surrey B.C., would pot two penalties for the Hawks while rookie Mackenzie D'Andrade of Newmarket, Ont., also found the back of the net to round out the scoring in the opening half.

With the game firmly in control, Laurier added some insurance in the second half to put this one out of reach. Midfielder Tierney Dunham of Waterdown Ont., scored in the 53rd, her first tally of the season and first in her career with the Hawks.

This was soon followed by leading goal scorer Maxine Murchie's (Kitchener, Ont.) third of the season at the 69 minute mark. The goal wrapped up what was another impactful offensive performance from Murchie, as she also assisted on three Hawk goals on the day.

Laurier keeper Ashley Almeida of Burlington Ont., had another strong effort in goal, turning aside six Brock shots for her first clean sheet of the season.

Marilena Spagnolo of St. Catharines, Ont., suffered the loss for Brock as she allowed five goals on 10 shots before giving way to Lauren MacCulloch of Welland, Ont., early in the second half. MacCulloch would finish the game with four saves on five shots.

The Hawks look to build on the big win next Saturday with a road date against McMaster (0-1-2) in Hamilton. Laurier students will get their first chance to see the squad when they return home on Saturday, September 17 against Windsor (1-0-2). Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at University Stadium.

Source: Laurier Golden Hawks

Gryphons Pick Up Road Win with 1-0 Victory Over Warriors

WATERLOO, ON - The Gryphons women's soccer team continued their strong start to the 2016 season on Sunday afternoon in Waterloo by defeating the Warriors 1-0 on a 61st minute goal from Ann-Carolyn Lang. With the win, the Gryphons have now taken seven of a possible nine points to start the season and sit at 2-0-1 (wins-losses-draws). The Warriors meanwhile fall to 0-2-1.

Last season in the opening round of the OUA playoffs, Ann-Carolyn Lang was the hero with the lone goal in the Gryphons 1-0 win over Western. Sunday afternoon in Waterloo, Lang would once again score the lone goal for the Gryphons, this time netting the match-winner at the 61 minute mark. After some strong lead up play, Lang was able to cut in from the left and fire home her first goal of the 2016 season. The Toronto native is in just her second year playing soccer with the Gryphons, but has already impressed head coach Randy Ragan with her versatility, "A.C. has been huge for us. We played her at the back quite a bit last season, but she has the ability to play all over the pitch. We feel like we were really able to dominate in the midfield this afternoon, and she was a big reason why."

Another important piece in the Gryphon midfield is third year London native Andrea Cimino, who also impressed Sunday afternoon and helped set the tone for the Gryphons in the midfield. Up front, rookie forward Jacquie Preza (Milton, ON) was all over the pitch, producing several good scoring chances and showing good strength throughout the match when battling to keep possession. With the Gryphons struggling to convert their scoring chances against the Warriors, it was the play of the Gryphons back line that was crucial in helping secure the three points.

Defenders Samantha Taylor, Allison Clouse, Sarah Magalhaes and Christina Woloszczuk produced an impressive, organized performance at the back to help Libby Brenneman pick up the clean sheet. Woloszczuk, a rookie right back, was one of five first year players to crack the Gryphons starting 11 on Sunday. The youthful Gryphons will look to continue their hot start to the season when they play host to Brock on Sunday, September 11 at 1pm.

Source: Guelph Gryphons