OUA Women's Soccer Roundup (Oct. 16)
October 11, 2017
McMaster 0 Guelph 3
GUELPH – The Guelph Gryphons women's soccer team has been mired in a scoring slump at absolutely the wrong time. But with the season winding down, the Gryphons broke out of the drought in convincing fashion. Guelph scored early and often in a 3-0 defeat of the visiting McMaster Marauders on a cold night at the Gryphon Soccer Complex.
Guelph had been kept off the scoresheet for its three previous matches, the only consolation being a point from a 0-0 draw against Laurier 10 days ago. But Katya Tarasoff, Victoria Hinchliffe and Alana MacLean all found the back of the net in the first half, in what was easily the Gryphons' best 45 minutes of action in a while.
The goals were a relief to both the side and coach Shayne Campbell.
"For us, it's really important," he said of the performance. "You work on these things all the time in training and sometimes it doesn't go your way and you can't lose track of the process and what you're trying to do.
"We worked really hard for the last few weeks and things went the right way today. We created some real good opportunities and we finished them. It's a real credit to the team."
Guelph (8-3-2) was dominant in the opening 45 minutes, scoring early and then adding two more with halftime approaching. Tarasoff got things rolling for the Gryphons in just the sixth minute, the first goal of her OUA career. The rookie midfielder from Guelph curled in a long free kick from well outside the area that bounced past Marauders' goalkeeper Deanna Persico for an early 1-0 lead.
Neither team created clear chances for a period but later in the half, Guelph defended a McMaster attack well and transitioned into a counter. Hinchliffe, the reigning OUA Rookie of the Year, would spin around a defender and make no mistake on a breakaway in the 40th minute to notch her second goal of the season. And right before the halftime whistle, MacLean added a dagger third that would help the Gryphons secure three more points, while snapping a run of disappointing results. Hinchliffe saved a through ball from going beyond the end line and sent in a great ball that MacLean would control and slot low.
Campbell praised the commitment of his players, particularly the defensive approach, which he considers a cornerstone of the program.
"That was the difference tonight," he said. "Our players were committed to a cause tonight, they were committed to working as hard as they could as a team."
Brooke Davidson got just her second OUA start in net and had to make four saves for her first clean sheet. She was crisp, particularly in the second half when McMaster attacked to get back into the match.
"She's a brilliant goalkeeper and I thought that when they came out in the second half, they had us under pressure," said Campbell. "Brooke made some key saves on their corner kicks where she controlled the ball and did a really good job.
Guelph is second in the conference in goals conceded with just four, behind only Western's league-best two.
The Gryphons head to Waterloo Wednesday, Oct. 18 to face the Warriors.
Source: gryphons.ca
October 13, 2017
Queen’s 8 RMC 0
KINGSTON, Ont. (October 13, 2017) - The Queen's Gaels (9-3-1) defeated the RMC Paladins (0-13-0) 8-0 on Friday night in Kingston at RMC.
GAME FLOW
It was all Gaels as the Paladins remained winless on the season losing for the 13th time.
In total six different Gaels found the back of the net with Savannah Meyer-Clement (Oshawa, Ont.) and Alexandra Doane (Brookside, N.S.) each netting a pair for the Tricolour.
Queen's scored four goals in each half and finished with 26 shots compared to just three for the Paladins.
Doane picked up the game winner while Meyer-Clement finished off RMC with goal number eight in the 90th minute.
BY THE NUMBERS
8 - Corners for Queen's compared to 0 for RMC
18 - Saves from RMC
9 - Wins on the season for the Gaels
Source: gogaelsgo.com
October 14, 2017
Ryerson 2 Laurentian 0
SUDBURY, Ont. - A two-goal effort by Victoria Watson saw the Ryerson Rams pick up their second consecutive win as well as key points and position in the OUA East standings with a 2-0 victory over the Laurentian Voyageurs in Sudbury.
Picking up her third two-goal game of the season, Watson has scored in five consecutive games to prove herself as a dominating force in OUA soccer. The goals came at seven and 70 minutes of play, showing an even distribution of offensive output from the first year throughout the match. Her increase in scoring production, having recorded her eighth and ninth goals of the season, has coincided with the Rams climbing the conference standings throughout the past several weeks.
Soraya El-Houni and Maria Poveda helped Watson put pressure on Caitlin McNamara, with Watson remaining the only goal-scorer of the match. The Voyageurs offence was in full force, with Sarah Sanford and Catherine Rocca recording three shots each with help from a handful of Laurentian teammates. However, Rams keeper Elisa Lapadula kept up a valiant effort in net to maintain the shutout and help take Ryerson to the victory.
The season-sweeping victory over the Voyageurs allowed the Rams to overtake the Toronto Varsity Blues in OUA East standings to take sole control of fifth place. Following a dominating 5-0 victory over the RMC Paladins, the winning streak for the Rams may be short, but it has major implications on their playoff hopes.
Laurentian now sits just one point ahead of the Rams in the OUA East standings as we approach the end of the season. Both teams sit behind a comfortable third place Queen’s Gaels and will be fighting to compete for postseason success.
The Rams will face the Nipissing Lakers in their second matchup of the season on Oct. 15th as they look to continue their points climb.
Source: ryersonrams.ca
Toronto 1 Nipissing 5
Powered by a Madison Logan hat-trick, the Nipissing Lakers women's soccer team picked up a big victory against the Toronto Varsity Blues Saturday afternoon.
Logan potted three goals and Nipissing controlled from start to finish, on their way to a 5-1 win and three big points as they chase down the final playoff position in the East Division.
The offence started quickly for the Lakers and Logan scored her first just two minutes into the game, firing home a low hard shot that found the corner of the net.
It was 25 minutes late when she struck again, making it 2-0 less than half an hour into the game.
Toronto responded with a goal of their own, cutting the lead in half, but once again, Logan found the back of the net, completing her hat-trick and restoring the Lakers two-goal lead.
Logan's third goal came just a minute into the second half.
From there, Delaney Borsato and Vanessa Rota added goals to secure the win and three points.
Mykaela Volpe was solid in net, finishing with six saves, earning the win.
At the start of the day, the Lakers trailed the Ryerson Rams by four points for the sixth and final playoff spot in the division.
The Lakers' win would pull them within one point, while Ryerson was taking on Laurentian in Sudbury.
Sunday's matchup between Nipissing and Ryerson is a huge game when it comes to sorting out the post-season picture.
Nipissing will look to make it a perfect weekend when they host Ryerson Sunday at noon at Scollard Hall.
Source: nulakers.ca
Carleton 1 UOIT 2
OSHAWA, Ont. – The UOIT women's soccer team extended their point streak to 13 games with a dramatic 2-1 come from behind victory over the Carleton Ravens on Saturday at the Civic.
Rachel Matthews (Ajax, Ont.) put her body on the line on both UOIT goals that were scored five minutes apart in the 77th and 82nd minutes.
On the game-tying goal, Matthews was able to get her head on a ball that was sent in by veteran Nicole Zajac(Mississauga, Ont.) off a free kick. Matthew's header ended up going off the post in the back of the net for her first of the season.
Five minutes later, Matthews blocked a clearance attempt by Carleton goalkeeper Rada Mintchev that deflected over to Taijah Henderson (Ajax, Ont.) who snuck it in between the post and Mintchev who was diving back to make the save. Henderson has nine goals this year and is tied with five other players for the league lead in scoring.
Carleton's lone goal opened up scoring in the 71st minute as Sarah Zutrauen was set up by Cheyenne Bent in the box.
The game was evenly matched with UOIT holding a slim 11-9 advantage in shots. Victoria Savage(Woodbridge, Ont.) earned the win in goal, making six saves. Mintchev also had six saves in the losing effort.
Savage is third in OUA save percentage (.887) and fifth in total saves (63).
UOIT (12-0-1) can clinch first place in the OUA eastern conference on Sunday as they host the Ottawa Gee-Gees (10-1-3) at Vaso's Field. The game will mark the Ridgebacks' final home game of the regular season.
Next weekend, UOIT will be on the road for matches against Laurentian and Nipissing to wrap up conference play.
Source: uoitridgebacks.com
Ottawa 4 Trent 0
The Gee-Gees women’s soccer team secured a 4-0 win at Trent on Saturday before facing nationally second-ranked UOIT on Sunday. The Gee-Gees (10-1-4) played to a 0-0 draw with UOIT (12-0-2) as Margot Shore, a third-year Civil Engineering student, made 10 saves in net. Ottawa sits in second place in the OUA East and will complete its regular season on Sunday at home against Carleton.
Source: geegees.ca
Algoma 0 York 3
The York University Lions women's soccer team took on the Algoma Thunderbirds Saturday in some home game action. The Lions won 3-0, continuing their winning streak against the Thunderbirds that began in the 2014 season.
Christina Morelli kicked off the scoring for the Lions with a goal in the 14th minute of play, assisted by Stephanie Lamanna. The remainder of the first half remained quiet, though many attempts were made by both teams to score some goals.
Ashley Nater added a goal for the Lions in the 55th minute, and Kendra Saxton later scored the third and final goal of the game in the 66th minute of play. The Thunderbirds had no luck scoring against the Lions, as the defensive line and goalkeeper Tamara Orlando played extremely well and blocked all three of the Thunderbirds' shots.
Top performance for the Thunderbirds was Hannah Marsch, who led the Thunderbirds with two shots on net.
Algoma goalkeeper Khadyja Claxton faced a barrage of shots at her net, stopping 16 of the 19 fired her way.
The Lions now have a 4-6-4 season record, and a three-game winning streak. They will look to add another win to boost their record when they take on Algoma again Sunday at 1pm at Alumni Field. The Lions last regular season game will be at home on Saturday, Oct. 21 at 1pm against the Windsor Lancers.
Source: yorkulions.ca
Laurier 1 Western 1
LONDON, Ont. - Fourth-year striker Julia Crnjac netted Western's only goal of the day in the team's 1-1 draw against the Laurier Golden Hawks this Saturday, October 14, at Mustang Field.
"It was a good game for both teams. Both sides were creating chances. I thought we actually got into a good rhythm in the second half and were playing well, but unfortunately, we made a mistake and allowed them to get the draw," said Mustangs head coach Martin Painter. "We were unhappy to concede the goal, but there were still a lot of positives to take away from today."
With the draw, Western's first of the season, the Mustangs will move to 13-1-1 on the year, and have already locked up first place in the OUA West Division as their 11-game winning streak comes to an end. The draw gives the Golden Hawks a 6-3-6 record, as they sit in third in the OUA West with two games remaining on the schedule.
The Mustangs came into the game off of a dominant weekend series against Algoma, but Laurier proved why they currently sit third in the OUA West division, coming out of the gate with constant activity and challenging every ball through the opening half.
Western controlled the time of possession well through the opening frame, but was unable to break through the Laurier defence to create any quality scoring opportunities, until midway through the half where Crnjac would put the Mustangs on the board with a strike to put the purple and white up 1-0.
The second half was just as closely contested, as Laurier amped up the pressure against the Western defence, with a good strike coming early in the second frame and missing the bottom corner by just inches. Crnjac would create another scoring chance for the purple and white off of a corner kick, but the Mustangs would be unable to convert. Both defences would continue to lock things down, until Laurier's Maxime Murchie would net a goal off the post In the 87th minute to tie the game at 1-1.
"We still have two more regular season games that we obviously want to go out and try to win, but we know we have a playoff game coming up and we know it's at home, so that's a big advantage for us," said Painter, looking ahead following his team's division-clinching win last week. "Knowing when and where we're playing allows us to start mentally preparing for the game, but we're not overlooking tomorrow's matchup against Waterloo."
"The win-streak definitely built up our confidence, but we can't get too caught up in that," said Crnjac. "At this point in the season, it's more important to keep looking forward than to be too focused on past accomplishments. We'll come back from this tomorrow and try to keep that momentum going into the post-season."
The Mustangs will be back in action this Sunday, October 15, at 4 p.m., when they will travel to Waterloo to take on the Warriors at Warrior Field for their penultimate contest of the regular season.
Source: westernmustangs.ca
Waterloo 3 Windsor 1
The Warriors women's soccer team put together another solid weekend, defeating Windsor 3-1 on Saturday night and pushing the No. 4 team in the country, Western to the brink in a hard fought 1-0 loss on Sunday.
In Saturday's contest under the lights in Windsor, Waterloo got all of their offence in the second half as Kendra Wynter(Oakville/) (49'), Danielle Erb (Waterdown/) (74'), and Shannon May Colling (Grimsby/) (90') each found the net to give Waterloo the 3-1 victory. In net, Madison McDonald (Kitchener/) was solid making seven stops for her fourth win of the season.
The Warriors are now 6-3-5 on the season with 23 points, good for fourth overall. With just two games left in the season the Warriors have clinched a home playoff game but could still catch Guelph (26 points) for second place in the OUA west which would give them a first round bye.
Source: athletics.uwaterloo.ca
October 15, 2017
Ryerson 2 Nipissing 2
NORTH BAY — There's something different about the 2017 Ryerson Rams women's soccer team. There's a feeling of belief and a never say die attitude that has never been this prevalent.
Down 2-0 with just 15 minutes to play in the last leg of their two-day road trip up north, the Ryerson Rams could have just packed it up; take the three points they earned against Laurentian back with them to Toronto and looked ahead to their final week of the regular season.
But they kept fighting.
Katie Joyce (Petty Harbour, Nfld.) broke the goose egg in the 75' minute, breaking up Mykaela Volpe's shutout bid, and brought back some of the frigid momentum to the Rams bench on this barely-above-zero afternoon in North Bay. Joyce's first goal of the season sparked something in the Rams as just four minutes later, Alex Rodkin (Whitby, Ont.) drew the Rams level with a goal of her in with just over ten minutes to play.
"We've got a talented group of women who know what they are capable of. They have worked hard this season and they are determined to continue to work for the results we want," said associate coach Tina Cook after the game. "Today they showed how gritty and persistent they can be."
The draw earns Ryerson a very valuable extra point in the standings, placing them above the Toronto Varsity Blues for fifth in the table, and gives them a realistic shot at moving up one more spot to fourth, which would give them a home playoff game in the first round of the OUA playoffs.
"We always play to win, but knowing we could secure a home field playoff game gives us some extra motivation," Cook added. "We know it's within our reach and we're all focusing our efforts this week on producing results this weekend to set ourselves up for the postseason."
In the weekend finale of the regular season, the Rams will host a pair of Kingston clubs at Downsview Park, beginning with Queen's on Friday, and RMC on Saturday. Kick-off for both matches will be at 6:00 pm.
Check back here on ryersonrams.ca for those game previews later on in the week.
Source: ryersonrams.ca
Toronto 0 Laurentian 0
After a tough loss to the Ryerson Rams on Saturday, the Voyageurs women's soccer team looked to rebound on Sunday against a tough Toronto Varsity Blues squad. With only one point separating both teams, Sunday afternoon's matchup between the Voyageurs and Varsity Blues was an important positional game for playoff standings.
The action lived up to the hype as both teams came out hungry and looking to strike first on offense. The Voyageurs created most of the strong pressure in the first half, hitting a post and narrowly missing a couple of chances early. Both keepers were on from the first whistle, sending teams into the half with the score knotted 0-0.
The second half saw many more offensive opportunities on both ends, with the Voyageurs keeping the pressure on, firing four shots on Blues goalkeeper, Stephania Turyk. Voyageurs keeper, Caitlin McNamara was equal to the task as she stymied the Toronto offense for her seventh scoreless finish this season. She currently sits second in the OUA in save percentage (.907) and third in saves (78).
The Voyageurs are back in action next weekend for their final two regular season games at LU Soccer Field as they welcome the UOIT Ridgebacks (Saturday) and Trent Excalibur (Sunday), game times set for 12pm.
Source: luvoyageurs.com
Ottawa 0 UOIT 0
OSHAWA, Ont. - For the second straight year the UOIT women's soccer team are OUA eastern conference champions as they clinched first place with a 0-0 draw against the No. 5 ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees on Sunday at Vaso's Field.
By finishing in first place, if the No. 2 ranked Ridgebacks advance to the final four they will play host to the OUA championship for the first time in program history.
"Our players and coaches continue to work hard and represent the University with such pride," said UOIT director of athletics Scott Barker. "It is pretty special when you clinch first place on the same day you get to honour graduating seniors."
With the draw, UOIT (12-0-2) extended their point streak to 14 games as they close out conference play next weekend on the road against Laurentian (Saturday) and Nipissing (Sunday). The Ridgebacks will host an OUA quarter-final match the following weekend at the Oshawa Civic.
Playing in muddy conditions, Sunday's game was evenly matched with Ottawa holding a slim advantage in shots at 17-15. Goalkeepers Margot Shore and Victoria Savage (Woodbridge, Ont.) would each turn aside every offensive opportunity making 10 and eight saves respectively. Savage sits third in save percentage in the OUA at .899 and second in shutouts with eight.
Sophie Curtis had the majority of the scoring chances for Ottawa with seven shots, four of which were on target. Taijah Henderson (Ajax, Ont.) and Nicole Zajac (Mississauga, Ont.) had seven and five shots for the Ridgebacks.
Both of UOIT's ties this season have been 0-0.
Source: uoitridgebacks.com
Brock 0 McMaster 2
In a crucial match, and following a frustrating first half without a breakthrough, the Marauders found their finishing touch in the second and earned three valuable points Sunday.
McMaster (3-6-5) scored twice in the second half, en route to a 2-0 win over Brock (4-9-1) that saw the Marauders leapfrog the Badgers into seventh in the OUA West with two games yet to play in the regular season.
The final playoff seed in the division is sixth, currently held by the Windsor Lancers with 16 points, while McMaster sits two points back.
Two final games, both coming against the winless Algoma Thunderbirds at Ron Joyce Stadium, will determine whether Mac can overtake Windsor for that final playoff spot.
A constant thorn in the side of the Badgers Sunday, forward Maila Carboni opened the scoring in the 53rd minute before assisting on the goal of teammate Ally Riganelli in the 70th, which effectively put the game out of reach.
The Marauders kept Marilena Spagnolo busy between the Badgers posts, directing nine shots on goal, including three by Carboni alone.
McMaster goalkeeper Deanna Persico was much less busy by comparison, saving the two shots that Brock managed to fire her way.
Source: marauders.ca
RC 2 Queen’s 6
KINGSTON, Ont. (October 15, 2017) – The Queen's Gaels (10-3-1) were victorious 6-2 in their final home game of regular season this homecoming weekend against the RMC Paladins (0-14-0).
The Gaels honoured their eight graduating seniors prior to the match as Kyra Steer, Rachel Radu, Micah Vermeer, Savannah Meyer-Clement, Alicia Levy, Matija Skoko, Claudia Glasspoole and Laura Callender all received a special gift in their final regular season home games.
GAME FLOW
In the first minutes of the game, the Gaels made several offensive attacks on the RMC goal and put strong pressure on the Paladins defence. Queen's managed to keep possession of the ball for majority of the first half and maintained their play in the RMC half.
In the 11th minute of the game, Jenny Wolever (Toronto) put the Tricolour on the board with the first goal of the game. The Gaels continued their momentum and quickly upped the score to 2-0 with a goal in the 12th minute from Savannah Meyer-Clement (Oshawa, Ont.).
The Gaels continued to play with fantastic ball control and composure. In the 42nd minute Wolever scored her second goal of the game and only two minutes later, Matija Skoko (Toronto) followed up with another making the score 4-0 to end the first half.
The second half started quickly with an RMC goal in the 46th minute of the game. The Gaels came back with a goal from Alexandra Doane (Brookside, N.S.) in the 50th minute. The Paladins returned with another goal but the Gaels capped off the score with a final goal by Laura Callender (Ottawa) in the 75th minute. The final score of the game was kept at 6-2 in favour of the Gaels.
BY THE NUMBERS
2 – goals for Jenny Wolever this game
8 – graduating seniors for Queen's
22 – shots on goal for the Gaels this game
FINAL SAY
"This win was a good way to end off our last home game of the season and we are looking forward to keeping it going next weekend and finishing off with a couple more wins." – Laura Callender
Source: gogaelsgo.com
Laurier 1 Windsor 1
The Lancer women's soccer team earned a point on final weekend of the regular season at home as they hosted the Waterloo Warriors and Laurier Golden Hawks.
Windsor fell 3-1 to the Warriors on Saturday afternoon before coming to a 1-1 draw against the Laurier Golden Hawks on Sunday afternoon.
The Lancers are 3-4-7 on the season and sit in sixth place in the OUA West division standings.
Prior to kick-off, Windsor honoured their graduating seniors: Becca Feurth, Giulia Barile, Jazmin Martin, Cassie Chretien, Andrea Parr and Krystin Lawrence.
Fuerth scored her second goal of the weekend 35 minutes into the game to give Windsor a one goal lead heading into halftime.
The Lancers were able to keep the Hawks at bay until the final minutes of the game when Pauline McCordic found a hole behind Lancer goaltender Brooks to tie the game with less than five minutes to play.
Both teams pressured for the equalizer but were unable to come up with the go ahead goal.
Source: golancers.ca
Algoma 0 York 2
The York University Lions women's soccer team has the longest current winning streak in the OUA at four matches after Sunday's 2-0 victory over the Algoma Thunderbirds at Alumni Field.
The run has vaulted the Lions into fifth place in the OUA West Division standings with a 5-6-4 record for 19 points. They sit three clear of the Windsor Lancers with one game remaining. The Thunderbirds have yet to pick up a win this season and sit at the bottom of the division at 0-14.
The Lions fired 14 shots at the Thunderbirds in the first half alone but it took until the 38th minute for them to take the lead. They finally did so when rookie Ola Olatoye scored the first goal of her career with an assist to Christina Morelli to make it 1-0.
Kristen Riquelme added her first of the season in the 68th minute for the insurance marker, but they did not need it against a Thunderbirds squad that managed only two shots and one on net.
York goalkeeper Taylor Grant made one save, while her Algoma counterpart Khadyja Claxton stopped nine of the 11 shots she faced.
The Lions have one game remaining this season and will host the Windsor Lancers at Alumni Field on Saturday at 1pm looking for a win to lock down fifth place in the division.
Source: yorkulions.ca
Western 1 Waterloo 0
WATERLOO, Ont. – A goal from Julia Crnjac in the 83rd minute gave the Western Mustangs a 1-0 win over the Waterloo Warriors on Sunday afternoon at Warrior Field.
The victory extends the Mustangs undefeated streak to 13 games, and gives the purple and white a 13-1-1 record. With one game remaining on the schedule the Mustangs have already locked up first place in the OUA West Division and will receive a bye through the first round of the OUA playoffs. Waterloo moves to 6-3-5 with the loss and remain in fourth place in the West standings.
Crnjac's goal is her ninth of the season and moves her into a tie for first on the Mustangs scoring leaderboard alongside Giulia Geraci. The goal also extends Crnjac's scoring streak, as the fourth-year striker has now scored in seven consecutive games dating back to Western's victory over McMaster on September 24.
After both teams sent one shot on goal in the first half, the Mustangs recorded four shots in the final 45 minutes, while preventing the Warriors from registering a shot.
Crnjac broke the deadlock that lasted for most of the game, scoring at the 83-minute mark to claim a 1-0 win for the purple and white.
Western only has one game remaining on their regular season schedule, with the Mustangs set to take on the Guelph Gryphons on Saturday, October 21. Game time is set for 1 p.m. at the Gryphon Soccer Complex in Guelph.
Source: westernmustangs.ca
