W-Soccer Roundup: Guelph, Queen's, UOIT and Carleton through to quarter-finals
October 23
Windsor 0 at Guelph 3
Guelph, Ont. - The Guelph Gryphon's women's soccer team defeated the Windsor Lancer's 3-0 at the Gryphon Soccer Complex on Wednesday in their first playoff game of the year. The win advances the Gryphon's to the OUA quarterfinals.
The Gryphon's had an extremely strong opening half. Courtney Whiteside continued her strong regular season play into the playoffs by opening the scoring for the Gryphon's in the 23rd minute. Goalie Megan Kilmas stopped all four Lancer shots to hold Windsor scoreless in the half. Guelph pummeled the Lancer defense, landing 11 shots on net in the opening frame. At the end of the half Guelph led 1-0.
The second half was chippy compared to the first as aggressive play from both squads led to some hard challenges. Victoria Cadman was almost rewarded for her stellar play in the 53rd minute when she streaked down the left side past her defender and fired a shot on goal. The Lancer goalie managed to make a save on the play.
Courtney Whiteside scored her second of the game in the 59th minute. Jennie Dunn crossed the ball over from the right side and Whiteside was able to convert on the rebound. Guelph nearly added to their lead in the 63rd minute when Victoria Cadman headed in a Courtney Whiteside cross. However Cadman was just offside on the play and the goal was disallowed.
The Gryphon's continued to apply pressure to the Lancer defense. A mad flurry in the Lancer box led to multiple shots on goal, but Windsor was able to survive unscathed.
Erica Bain had multiple excellent runs including one in the 71st minute when she was sent on a breakaway but the Windsor keeper made the stop. Courtney Whiteside had a golden opportunity to complete the hat trick on a breakaway but she was ultimately shut down. Whiteside was not to be denied as she finally potted her third shortly thereafter for the natural hat trick. The game ended in a 3-0 victory for the Gryphon's.
The Gryphons advance to the OUA quarterfinals where they will face the Western Mustangs. Western will host the playoff game on Oct. 27 at 12:30 p.m.
Source: Guelph Sports Info
Laurentian 0 at Queen’s 6
KINGSTON (October 23, 2013) - Riley Filion (Alexandria, Ont.) scored the Gaels opening goal and added a second goal to lead Queen's to a 6-0 victory over the Laurentian Voyageurs on Wednesday afternoon on the West Campus Turf Field in the Gaels first OUA playoff game.
After Filion netted the game's first goal in the 14th minute, the Gaels made it 3-0 at halftime with goals from Melissa Jung (Mississauga, Ont.) and Alexis McKinty (Burlington, Ont.). The Gaels continued their onslaught in the second half, including Filion's second tally, and goals from Brittany Almeida (Elginburg, Ont.) and Rachel Radu (Ottawa).
Madison Tyrell (White Rock, B.C.) recorded the clean-sheet for the Gaels, stopping all four shots she faced. Richele Greeenwood had five saves for Laurentian in the loss.
On Sunday, the Gaels continue their playoff run as they head to Ottawa to play the Gee-Gees, who finished first in the OUA East with a 12-1-3 record. When the teams played during the regular season, the Gaels lost 1-0 at home and tied the Gee-Gees 0-0 on the road. The game gets underway at 1 p.m.
Source: Queen’s Sports Info
McMaster 0 at UOIT 1 PK
The UOIT women’s soccer team earned a dramatic 1-0 victory in the opening round of the OUA playoffs as they defeated McMaster 2-0 in penalty kicks on Wednesday at the Oshawa Civic.
With the win, the Ridgebacks advance to the OUA quarterfinals on Sunday, October 27 where they will take on the Laurier Golden Hawks. Game time in Waterloo is at 1 p.m.
“I was very proud of the girls and all they have accomplished in such a short time together,” said head coach Peyvand Mossavat. “This was a historical win for UOIT and the women's soccer team. Winning a playoff game is always difficult and McMaster played extremely well, which made it even more challenging. Our young team stayed on task and were focused for 120 minutes. That’s special and a sign of a team and program on the rise.”
UOIT freshman goalkeeper Melissa MacKinnon (Millgrove, Ont.) had an outstanding game, especially in penalty kicks as McMaster did not convert on all four of their attempts. Emily Copeland-Dinan (Ottawa, Ont.) and Sonia Sampogna (Toronto, Ont.) each converted for UOIT, giving the Ridgebacks their first playoff victory.
With the Ridgebacks leading 1-0 in the fourth round of the shootout, Sampogna put the pressure on McMaster as she calmly converted her attempt in the bottom right hand corner. On McMaster’s final attempt, midfielder Kelly Orlando sailed the ball over the net, setting off a UOIT celebration.
Prior to the shootout, the teams played 120 minutes of scoreless soccer with UOIT doubling up McMaster in shots on target with a 10-5 advantage.
UOIT’s best attempt came late in the game when Jessica Mithrush (Thunder Bay, Ont.) attempted a shot from just outside the box. The ball rang off the crossbar, with McMaster being able to clear it from trouble.
MacKinnon stopped all five shots on target and did not allow in a single penalty kick, as she earned the win in goal for the Ridgebacks. Senior goalkeeper Brittany Duffey was also impressive for McMaster stopping all 10 UOIT shots on target.
This marks the women’s soccer program’s first OUA playoff victory, with the Ridgebacks entering the league in 2012. Last year, McMaster defeated UOIT 2-1 in the opening round of the playoffs in Hamilton.
UOIT extends their unbeaten streak to seven games, which includes three wins over McMaster.
Laurier, UOIT’s next opponent, finished in second place in the OUA western conference during the regular season with a 9-3-4 record. The teams split their regular season series, with each squad picking up a 2-1 victory on the road.
Source: UOIT Sports Info
Nipissing 2 at Carleton 3
The Carleton Ravens have travel plans for this weekend.
The women’s soccer team will be in Toronto on Sunday afternoon for an OUA East semifinal match against the Varsity Blues.
The Ravens qualified for the important contest after defeating the Nipissing Lakers 3-2 on Wednesday afternoon at Ravens’ Field.
Carleton beat the Lakers with ease during the regular season going 2-0 in their two meetings but Wednesday’s contest was tighter than Ravens’ head coach, Alex McNutt would have liked.
“Playoff games are never easy, this was not on of our (Carleton) best games but the main thing is we’re through,” McNutt said. “Now our focus is on Toronto and being prepared to play against them for a second time in a week.”
Toronto and Carleton met at Ravens’ Field on Sunday, October 20 with the Varsity Blues edging the Ravens edging 3-2, securing second place in the OUA East standings and a first round bye.
The loss sent the Ravens into third place and Wednesday’s matchup with No.6 Nipissing.
Carleton took a 1-0 lead (38th) when Sarah Royer (Lethbridge, AB) converted a crisp, cross crease pass from Abby Nicastro (Ottawa) who controlled the ball as she sprinted down the left side of the field before finding her teammate with a perfect feed.
“That goal started with a terrific pass from Tina (Lacava) (Markham, ON) and I was able to spot Sarah in front of the net,” Nicastro explained. “We won this game and will be fired up to play against Toronto on Sunday.”
Nipissing tied the game 1-1 (46th) but the Ravens responded in the 52nd minute with Emma Landry (Ottawa, ON) finding the back of the Lakers’ net with a nice header off a Carleton corner kick.
The Lady Ravens went up by two goals 3-1 at the 75 minute mark with a Mijnairii Perkins (Brampton, ON) tally when she booted the ball into the top of the Lakers net.
Nipissing made things interesting with a marker in the 83rd minute but Carleton hung on for the win.
Sunday’s game at Varsity Stadium in Toronto gets underway at 2:00 p.m.
The winner will qualify for the 2013 women’s final four, Nov. 2-3.
Source: Carleton Sports Info