Experience shines through in impressive first week of play

Toronto, Ont. (via Ben Steiner) – The first week of the OUA season is in the books, and it didn’t take long to get some surprising moments.

While the second half didn’t go their way in an eventual 4-0 loss to the Toronto Varsity Blues, the RMC Paladins put in an admirable shift – including 14 stops from rookie goalkeeper Brianna West, as they held the championship-hopeful Blues to a scoreless first half.

From that surprise, to the continued success of the Ottawa Gee-Gees and Queen’s Gaels through the first weekend, and Jade Abreo’s standout weekend with the McMaster Marauders, there was a lot in Week 1. If you missed it, OUA soccer is back, and nobody looks like they’ve got any rust.

First week down. A long way to go.

Experienced Marauders take four of six points

Despite falling a game short of the U SPORTS National Championship in 2023, the Marauders are back in full force and look hopeful to make another run in the OUA West. Since their previous OUA semifinal in 2018, it had been a long road to their 2023 run – and the bold decisions continued to pay off on opening weekend.

Now, it’s experience paving the way to quick success.

Led by fourth-year Jade Abreo, graduate student Alena Spehar, and two strong performances in net from fifth-year Ali Mudie, the Marauders grabbed a hard-fought back-and-forth 2-2 draw with the York Lions and a 2-1 win against the Brock Badgers.

Head coach Garett Peters retooled how his side approached games last year, and that identity of a patient approach while allowing opponents to hold onto the ball for extended periods before playing with intense pressure continued on the opening weekend of 2024.

With a veteran-laden squad, the Marauders leaned on fourth-year midfielder Abreo, who scored their season-opening goal against York and created both chances for the two tallies against Brock.

It’s still early in the season, and two tests against the Windsor Lancers on the second weekend will give them more opportunity to test their details, especially in the lead-up to two matches against the Western Mustangs the week after – the team that beat them for OUA bronze a year ago.

So far, experience is paying off early, as one of the longest-tenured rosters showcased their ability to transition and return phases of play, a critical factor to early-season success.

Queen’s open with a perfect weekend; get set for Ottawa clash

Graduations, transfers, and new faces didn’t matter much to the Queen’s Gaels. One of the OUA’s dominant forces found quick success on opening weekend with two clean sheets, 4-0 over the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks and 3-0 over the TMU Bold.

Now in her second full season with the team, Mattson Strickler got her campaign off to a hot start, scoring two goals in the season-opening win over the Ridgebacks, including a second goal where she ran nearly half the field before sending a blistering shot past the goalkeeper.

As the Gaels move on from the rookie standouts of Vita and Leda Naihin from last season’s national championship hosting duties, there’s even more pressure on Strickler to drive the attack. If Week 1 is anything to go by, she’ll be just fine.

Even better than the two goals for the Gaels, though, was the fourth-year student’s ability to draw Lily Goss and Brinley Bjornson into attacking spaces, forcing defenders to drift away from Strickler and allowing her a chance to make the most of Bjornson’s patience as a deeper-lying forward.

Goss, Bjornson, and Seema Sakran all finished the weekend with a goal and an assist. Meanwhile, head coach Dave McDowell’s side held strong defensively, only relying on goalkeeper Kirstin Tynan for five saves over two matches.

Now, though, the tests have become even more challenging in the top contest on the women’s soccer schedule for Week 2, as the Gaels take on the Ottawa Gee-Gees in a rematch of 2023’s OUA final.

Ottawa played once on the opening weekend, a dominant 6-0 showing over the Laurentian Voyageurs, with goals from six different players. The second week of the year may be too early to talk about a final, but might this be a preview?

The stars will be out. Strickler, Sakran, Cassandra Provost, Jenna Matsukubo, and more. However it plays out, it’s a battle worth watching on September 8th, after the Gee-Gees take on the Trent Excalibur, and Gaels face the Carleton Ravens a couple days prior.