OUA Women's Soccer Roundup September 13-17
September 13, 2017
Western 4 Windsor 0
A pair of goals from Giulia Geraci helped lead the Western Mustangs to a 4-0 win over the Windsor Lancers on Wednesday night at Alumni Field.
With the win the Mustangs improve to 4-1-0 on the year and move into a tie for first place in the OUA West Division alongside the Lancers, who hold a 3-1-3 record.
Geraci's two goals give the first-year midfielder three tallies on the season and put her atop the Mustangs scoring leaderboard. Also marking their names on the score sheet on Wednesday were Morgan Asling and Kendra Marlatt with both players scoring the first goals of their OUA careers.
Megan Girardi earned a clean sheet in net, making one save in the victory.
The Mustangs outshot the Lancers 8-2 in the opening 45 minutes, but it wasn't until the 34th minute that their efforts would pay off, with Geraci recording her first goal of the night to give the purple and white a 1-0 lead at halftime.
Western's strong play continued in the second half, and the Mustangs didn't wait long before getting the offence going again with two goals in the first 10 minutes of the frame.
Asling provided the first goal just over five minutes in, and Geraci followed up at the 59 minute mark with her second goal of the evening.
Marlatt closed out the scoring for Western with a goal in the 75th minute to cement the 4-0 win.
Source: Western Mustangs
September 16, 2017
RMC 1 Laurentian 5
On a summer-like September afternoon in Sudbury, the Voyageurs Women's Soccer team struck early and often as they ran away from the visiting RMC Paladins on Saturday afternoon by a 5-1 score.
Just nine minutes in, Allison Pilon's throw into the 18 yard box bounced around before landing on Sarah Sanford's foot. With her back to goal, Sanford calmly spun and hit a low shot past the Paladins keeper, Claudia Rusu, for the 1-0 lead.
Not four minutes later, Michelle Walsh busted down the far side of the field and fired a cross in that Rusu tried to cut off. Instead she spilled it onto the foot of Brianne Rodrigue, who slid it home for her third goal of the season and a 2-0 lead.
After Catherine Rocca made it 3-0 in the 15th minute, the Paladins got on the board in the 28th minute when a free kick from outside the 18 yard box bounced around in front of Caitlin McNamara before RMC's Kaylee Carlisle got a head to it. The ball was cleared off of McNamara's line but the assistant referee deemed the ball had completely crossed the line, making it a 3-1 score.
The Voyageurs were not dissuaded as, just six minutes later, Sarah Sanford worked the ball down to the Paladins' goal line before delivering a clever little chip over two defenders and the goalie, onto the foot of Michelle Walsh who slid it into the open net.
There could have easily been a sixth goal in the first half but Rusu made a wonderful save on Rodrigue's penalty kick just before the half time whistle. The Voyageurs fired 13 shots on goal in the opening 45 minutes and went into half time with a comfortable 4-1 lead.
Source: Laurentian Voyageurs
Queen’s 3 Nipissing 1
The No.5 Queen's Gaels (4-0-1) prevailed over the Nipissing Lakers (1-4-1) 3-1 in their first road game of the season.
GAME FLOW
The Gaels started the first half strong with several offensive attempts and excellent defensive work. The Gaels took the lead in the 26th minute of the match with an unassisted goal from Alexandra Doane(Brookside, N.S), her third of the year. Laura Callender (Ottawa) added another goal for Queen's to pad their lead in the 43rd minute of the game. Jenny Wolever (Toronto) added an assist on the play to take over the OUA lead in the category with four. Heading into the first half Queen's held a 2-0 lead.
With their 2-0 lead over Nipissing, the Gaels eased off their offensive attack to begin the second half. The Lakers were finally able to break through with a goal to cut the Queen's lead in half.
In the 63rd minute of the game, Callender managed to score her second goal of the game for the Gaels, pushing the final score to 3-1.
Callender now had four goals on the season for 2nd in the OUA and picked up her first game-winner.
Marina Ribecca (Vancouver) got the start and turned aside six shots for the win.
Source: Queen's Gaels
Toronto 4 Trent 0
Third-year striker Natasha Klasios scored three goals in the first half to lead the University of Toronto Varsity Blues to a 4-0 victory over the Trent Excalibur in OUA women's soccer action on Saturday, September 16 in Peterborough, Ont.
Klasios opened the scoring in the 18th minute with a great long range strike to find the top corner of the net. The Unionville, Ont., native added her second of the match in the 34th minute off a nice cross from veteran striker Chelsea Cheung.
Klasios, who represented Canada at the 2017 FISU Summer Universiade in Taipei, completed the hat trick in the 45th minute after receiving a nice through ball from Cheung.
The Blues were up 3-0 at the half.
Cheung rounded out the scoring with a strong finish in front of the net in the 52nd minute. The Toronto native ended the match with one goal and two assists.
Second-year goalkeeper Vanna Staggolis made four saves and earned her first career clean sheet victory.
Source:Toronto Varsity Blues
Waterloo 0 Western 1
First-year midfielder Alyssa Desantisrecorded the lone goal of the match to lead the Western Mustangs to a 1-0 win over the Waterloo Warriors on Saturday afternoon at Mustang Field.
"I thought the team played well. We were in control of the game and obviously we were defensively sound. Waterloo is a tough team and they defended us well on their side of the ball; they're very organized, they worked hard, they're physical, and they have some dangerous players on counter-attack," said Mustangs' head coach Martin Painter, commenting on the competitiveness of the formerly undefeated Warriors. "We executed well, but the hardest part of the game is scoring goals, especially against a team like Waterloo."
With the win, the Mustangs extend their winning streak to four games and improve to 5-1 on the season to move them to the top of the OUA West standings. Having been handed their first loss of the season, the Warriors now hold a 2-1-3 record and occupy fifth place in the divisional standings.
Desantis' goal was not only the game winner for the Mustangs, but her strike from the corner was also the first goal of her young Western career.
"It was awesome to be able to shift the game for the team. It was a high-intensity match and we were lucky to get a shot on net in those last couple minutes," said Densantis. "We're just trying to work on our scoring and attacking, but today we were lucky to get the win."
The first half was fairly one-sided, with the Mustang's offence doing well to create chances against the Warriors' physical defence. Western controlled possession well in the opening half, applying constant pressure to the Warrior's defence, finishing the half with two chances at the net which nearly broke open the scoring. Unfortunately, the Mustangs weren't able to convert on their chances, and went into halftime deadlocked at 0-0.
The second half was fairly reminiscent of the first, with the purple and white defence clamping down on the Waterloo strikers and limiting their shots on goal. As the game drew on, the Mustangs seemed to find their rhythm offensively, displaying quick ball movement and wearing down the Warriors defence to generate nine shots in the half.
Finally, with less than ten minutes remaining on the clock, Desantis scored off a corner kick to earn the 1-0 victory for the purple and white.
"There was a lot of positive energy on the field today. I thought there was a lot of good communication and we needed it," said Desantis.
"Having close games such as these is just the nature of the division. Waterloo is a very tough team and every team in our division is capable of winning on any given day, but we've already put up five wins this season and put ourselves in first place. You have to be able to win close games, and we've done that. It'd be nice to score a few more goals, but realistically, most of our game are going to be tight," said Painter.
Source:Western Mustangs
Windsor 1 Laurier 1
Opportunity loomed large for the Laurier Golden Hawks women’s soccer team on Saturday afternoon against OUA West Division co-leaders the Windsor Lancers. Following a rather tight first half that saw the purple and gold cough up an early goal to the Lancers, the team brought out their best performance of the season in the second half, controlling throughout and rallying to draw 1-1 in front of their home supporters at University Stadium.
With just a couple points separating the two sides coming into Saturday’s match, many expected a closely contested affair. The opening half did not disappoint in that regard, with Windsor and Laurier looking evenly matched from the off.
The Hawks (2-1-4) were doing a good job controlling much of the possession early on. However, they were not able to convert that time with the ball into quality opportunities, with many offensive attempts being thwarted around the edge of the 18-yard box.
The Lancers (3-1-4) were not having that same difficulty, proving to be opportunistic as Jade Samping (Windsor, Ont.) got the visitors out to an early lead.
Whatever spark the Hawks were missing in the first half, they had found and then some in the second half. Displaying a much more aggressive, north-south style of attack than previously seen this season, the purple and gold were constantly pushing the ball up field and firing away on Lancers keeper Kristina Brooks (Chatham, Ont.) outshooting Windsor 13-2.
Spearheading the aggressive play for Laurier was Nicole Lyon (Kitchener, Ont.), continuing to prove that she is not afraid to mix it up physically with anyone.
The new tactics were paying dividends for the Hawks, as Mackenzie D’Andrade (Newmarket, Ont.) was able to blast away from around the six-yard box for her third goal of the year, getting Laurier back on even terms.
With the Lancers folding under the extreme pressure from the Hawks in the minutes following the D’Andrade marker, it seemed like it was just a matter of time before the purple and gold added a second and potentially more.
Shockingly, Windsor was able to pull a Houdini-esque escape from what was a disastrous situation, somehow hanging on for the remainder of the match to salvage a point.
Source:Laurier Golden Hawks
Ryerson 0 UOIT 2
The UOIT women's soccer team has won their sixth straight game after defeating the Ryerson Rams 2-0.
Nicole Zajac (Mississauga, Ont.) opened the scoring in the 16th minute as she blasted a shot to the bottom left corner of the goal off a pass from Taijah Henderson (Ajax, Ont.).
The game stood at 1-0 at halftime, with the hometown Ridgebacks outshooting Ryerson 11-4.
In the second half, the lone goal was scored by UOIT's Cassandra Sribny (Pickering, Ont.) in the 79th minute.
On the goal, there was an injury to Ryerson's goalkeeper, Brittney Clendenan, which paused the game and eventually caused the game to be called by the officials and both head coaches.
Both teams came together to end the game as one group. Led by Rams' head coach Ivan Joseph, they said a prayer for Clendenan, wishing for a quick recovery.
The game was ended in the 80th minute with UOIT leading in shots 12-6.
Victoria Savage (Woodbridge, Ont.) made five saves for the clean sheet in goal for UOIT.
Source: UOIT Ridgebacks
Guelph 3 Algoma 0
Saturday afternoon in Sault Ste. Marie, the Gryphons women's soccer team picked up a 3-0 win over the Algoma Thunderbirds. With the result, the Gryphons improve to 4-2-1 on the season and sit in 2nd place in the OUA West Division, just two points back of Western.
Playing the first of two weekend matches versus Algoma, the Gryphons were able to open the scoring in the 26th minute after fourth year midfielder Jacqueline Goulart showed off a nice first touch before slotting home near side to give the Gryphs a 1-0 lead.
It would stay that way until the 47th minute when Gryphon rookie Alana MacLean (Markham, ON) sent a beautiful, left-footed shot into the top corner for the first goal of her Gryphon career. Fellow rookie Venessa Mazur would cap the scoring in the 88th with her second goal of the season. After some nice build-up play along the left wing, MacLean would send in a perfectly weighted cross to Mazur, who rose up and headed home to put the Gryphons up 3-0.
For Gryphons head coach Shayne Campbell, Saturday's offensive outburst was the result of some focused training during the week, "We worked all week to try to increase our scoring chances. We were really pleased with the opportunities we were able to create today, and we were close to converting several other chances if not for some incredible saves from the Algoma keeper today."
Algoma keeper Alexis Trigiani-Kirkwood made a total of 9 saves on the day in the losing effort.
Source: Guelph Gryphons
McMaster 0 Brock 1
The Brock University women's soccer team came up with a big victory Saturday afternoon as they defeated the McMaster Marauders by the score of 1-0 on Alumni Field.
The two teams played an even opening 45 minutes with neither team getting many offensive chances.
The second half was a lot more up tempo but it was both goaltenders in Brock's Marilena Spagnolo and the Marauders Deanna Persico coming up with some clutch saves to keep it deadlocked at 0-0.
In the 51st minute, the Badgers Alex Crawford scored the eventual game winner as she beat Persico for her first goal of the season.
Late in the contest, the Marauders rattled one off the crossbar, as the Badgers held onto the one-goal lead.
With time running down, Spagnolo made two big saves off McMaster's Steph Roberts to secure the shutout. She recorded nine saves for her second shutout of the season.
Source: Brock Badgers
September 17, 2017
Queen’s 0 Laurentian 2
On Sunday afternoon, the Voyageurs Women's Soccer team played a patient game, waiting for their opportunities against the always tough Queen's Gaels. Their patience paid off in the form of a 2-0 victory over the visiting Gaels.
After plenty of back and forth play to open the game, captain Allison Pilon found herself with a throw roughly 10 yards from the end line in the 26th minute. After a monstrous toss into the 6 yard box, Pilon retreated back to her centre back position and her timing couldn't have been more perfect. The ball bounced around the box for a moment before the Gaels cleared... directly at Pilon. She hit a wonderful strike on the volley and Queen's goaltender, Alanna Richardson, had no chance as the Voyageurs went up 1-0.
The second half saw the Gaels push for an equalizer but it was the Voyageurs who struck on the counter. After some solid defending, the Voyageurs cleared with a long ball towards the Queen's net. Sarah Sanford and Richardson raced for it with Sanford getting to the ball first, chipping it around the keeper and catching up to it in time to slide it into the open net for her fourth of the year and a 2-0 lead.
The Gaels continued to push for a goal but the back line and Caitlin McNamara equally stood tall to shut the door with McNamara earning her third clean sheet of the season.
Source: Laurentian Voyageurs
Guelph 3 Algoma 0
The Guelph Gryphons women's soccer team has been on the hunt for goals. A pair of rookies came through on that front Sunday afternoon. First-year players Olivia Lennon and Sydney Johnsoneach registered the first goals of their OUA careers, helping the Gryphons to a comfortable 3-0 win over the Algoma Thunderbirds.
Guelph (6-2-1) swept the two games in Sault Ste Marie, both by the same score line. The six total goals were welcome after the Gryphons failed to find the net in back-to-back losses to Brock and McMaster last weekend.
"Our objective on this trip was to really work on creating a lot of goal-scoring chances," said coach Shayne Campbell. "I felt we did that in both matches. We had several high-level opportunities and we were very creative."
The goals finally came, including two sensational efforts by the rookies. Lennon, a midfielder from Kitchener, ON, got the Gryphons off and running in the 24th minute. She passed off to Ann-Carolyn Lang, got a return feed, and unleashed a shot from 20 yards out that Algoma goalkeeper Alexis Trigiani-Kirkwood had no chance of stopping.
Defender Christina Woloszczuk made it 2-0 about eight minutes later when she launched a deep cross into the area that eluded all players before creeping into the Thunderbirds' net.
Johnson, a Guelph native, would get her first ever goal with a memorable strike. The first-year forward took a couple of slick dribbles, created space for herself and sent a rocket just under Trigiani-Kirkwood's crossbar to make it 3-0 in injury time.
"We were able to find the back of the net today," said Campbell, happy that his players remained patient and broke down the packed Algoma defence. "We went after them and got something out of it.
"We scored some very nice goals."
Santana Ferreira and Laura Foresi, both first-year goalkeepers, combined to earn the clean sheet in the Guelph net. Ferreira played most of the match and made a big save off an Algoma corner in the 70th minute. Foresi subbed in for the final 15 minutes.
Source: Guelph Gryphons
Toronto 0 UOIT 2
The University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's soccer team fell 2-0 to the defending OUA champion and No. 2 nationally ranked UOIT Ridgebacks on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 17) in Oshawa, Ont.
With the loss the Varsity Blues record sits at 4-4 placing them in fourth in the OUA East. The Ridgebacks remain undefeated on the season winning their seventh straight to sit atop the OUA East division.
The Varsity Blues came out fast in the highly anticipated matchup as they forced UOIT keeper Victoria Savage to make a diving effort in the first minute of play.
However, action would make its way back into the U of T zone with Toronto's second-year goalkeeper Vanna Staggolis under pressure by efforts from UOIT scoring threats Taijah Henderson, Cassandra Sribny, and Katherine Koehler-Grassau. Staggolis proved to be up to the task recording 12 saves on the afternoon turning aside the Ridgebacks attack until the 60th minute.
Sribny put the first marker on the board for UOIT, followed by another from Koehler-Grassau under a minute later.
Toronto looked to respond in the final 15 minutes mounting possession but the Varsity Blues were unable to break through.
Source:Toronto Varsity Blues
Brock 1 York 2
The York University Lions women's soccer team continued its search for its first win of the season in home game action Sunday and emerged with the victory after a late goal by Haley Walsh broke a deadlock en route to a 2-1 win over the Brock Badgers at Alumni Field.
Heading into this game, the Lions had been victorious in the previous 15 games they have played against the Badgers. The heat on the field matched the warm weather, making for an exciting afternoon match.
The first half saw both teams match aggression and intensity. There were many near misses and outstanding catches by goalkeepers Taylor Grant (Brampton, Ont.) of the Lions and Marilena Spagnola (St. Catherines, Ont.) of the Badgers. Despite everyone's best efforts both teams walked away scoreless at halftime.
The second half brought more aggression and intensity. The scoring drought came to an end when second-year forward Stephanie Lamanna (Pickering, Ont.) scored in the 65th minute of play, with an assist by Kendra Saxton (Waterloo, Ont.). The Badgers quickly took back the ball and Cassandra Stirpe scored on a shot initially deflected by Grant in the 74thminute.
To continue the eventful second half, Walsh (Markham, Ont.) of the Lions scored in the 89th minute of play. Walsh is finally returning to play after being sidelined by various injuries over the last couple of years, and she has proven herself a force to be reckoned with in midfield.
Walsh's goal closed the game, which saw the Lions celebrate their first win of the season to improve their record to 1-4-2 on the season.
Source: York Lions
Ryerson 0 Trent 0
A quiet first half left both teams scratching their heads at halftime. Ryerson had several good chances through the second half of play, coming close to scoring on several occasions. In the 74th minute, Ryerson’s Victoria Watson (Scarborough, Ont.) was able to get a head on the ball, but she directed it just wide of the net. Again in the 82nd minute, on her second scoring opportunity of the game, Watson put the ball wide of the net.
The hard-fought game on both sides ended in a 0-0 tie.
The Rams faced off against Trent last weekend, pulling off a 2-1 win in a close game. Ryerson is now 3-3-2 on the season, currently sitting fifth in the OUA’s EasternConference.
Ryerson suffered a 2-0 loss to the No. 2 UOIT Ridgebacks yesterday, as the game ended in the 80th minute after goaltender Brittney Clendenan (Ottawa, Ont.) suffered an injury on the field. Elisa Lapadula (Brampton, Ont.) took to the net today for the Rams, and stopped all shots she faced in the game.
Source: Ryerson Rams
Western 1 Laurier 0
WATERLOO, Ont. – A first half goal from Sabrina De Nard extended the Western Mustangs winning streak to five games with a 1-0 victory over the Laurier Golden Hawks on Sunday afternoon at University Stadium.
The win moves the Mustangs to 6-1-0 and they maintain their spot atop the OUA West standings, two points ahead of the Guelph Gryphons. Laurier falls to 2-2-4 with the loss, and remain in fifth place in the standings.
De Nard's goal is her second of the season, as she also provided the game winner in the Mustangs 1-0 win over McMaster back on September 2.
Western controlled the play in the first half, outshooting the Golden Hawks 9-0 and forcing Laurier keeper Ashley Almeida to make four saves in the first 45 minutes. De Nard's goal came a little less than 20 minutes into the half and gave the Mustangs a 1-0 lead that they wouldn't relinquish.
Things were a bit more even in the second half, with the Golden Hawks holding a 4-2 edge in shots, however none would beat keeper Megan Girardi as Western walked away with a 1-0 win.
Next up for the purple and white is another road contest, as they'll head to St. Catharines on Saturday, September 23, to take on the Brock Badgers at 1 p.m.
Source: Western Mustangs
Windsor 0 Waterloo 1
n Sunday, Ciara Dunne (Waterloo/) put the Warriors up 1-0 in the 42nd minute and the black and gold would hang on for a crucial three points. McDonald made another five saves to pick up her second shutout ot the season.
The Warriors improved to 3-1-3 with the win and sit alone in fourth in the OUA west with 12 points, six back of the first place Mustangs. Waterloo will be back in action under the lights next Friday against the York Lions. Kickoff is set for 6pm.
Source:Waterloo Warriors
Ottawa 2 Carleton 1
The Ravens were first out of the gate, immediately applying pressure to the Gee-Gees defence.
The OUA’s leading goal scorers did what they do best and opened the scoring with a 9th-minute push.
Vanessa Germano (Ottawa, ON) capitalized on a Gee-Gees turnover and passed the ball to the left side of the box. Ghalia Hammada (Kanata, ON) rushed the ball and launched a textbook strike right past the keeper into the back of the net to open a 1-0 lead.
Carleton would continue their persistent attacks before Ottawa finally settled in half-way through the first and managed a few attempts of their own in the box.
Despite continued immense offensive pressure from the Gee Gees, none of their first-half opportunities would prove fruitful as the Ravens defence was impenetrable and keeper Rada Mintchev (Ottawa, ON) was stellar, preserving the one-goal lead entering halftime.
“I thought we competed well, we closed well and we limited their chances,” said head Coach Fred Juett of his team’s first half. “Then we came out in the second half and started slow and they had us pinned for quite a bit of the half.”
Ottawa opened the second forty-five with fury in their eyes. The team consistently hovered in and around the Ravens 18-yard box, presenting Mintchev with one of her toughest tests yet.
The Ravens’ luck would soon end as Katherine Bearne collected a cross inside the box and had a clear path to shoot. She sniped her shot past Mintchev to tie the game 1-1 in the 68th minute.
Only moments later, the Carleton women found themselves in deep trouble again as Ottawa fired two shots that were miraculously saved on magnificent efforts from Mintchev. Their third shot was then sent bouncing straight down off the crossbar, eventually cleared by the Ravens.
Absolutely dominating possession and pressing constantly inside the Ravens’ box as the clock ticked down, Ottawa finally overcame the strong Ravens defence to take a 2-1 lead in the last minutes of play on Emma Lefebvre’s game winner, silencing the crowd and solidifying the win.
“We looked fatigued, to be honest,” said Juett. “I thought our fitness level was not as good as theirs and it showed in the end. You have to play 90-plus minutes and we didn’t do it, again.”
“The only way I’d describe our performance, again today and throughout the season, is inconsistent,” he added. “From up and down it’s been inconsistent and it’s something we need to work on.”
Source: Carleton Ravens
Other Scores:
RMC 0 Nipissing 4
