AROUND OUA: Ridgebacks lock up first place for first time in program history
The UOIT women's soccer team will finish the OUA season in first place in the east division.
SCOREBOARD
UOIT 4 @ RMC 1
Carleton 2 @ Nipissing 2
Ottawa 1 @ Laurentian 2
Laurier 0 @ Western 2
McMaster 7 @ Algoma 0
Trent 0 @ Queen's 9
Waterloo 1 @ Windsor 3
Brock 0 @ York 1
Ridgebacks lock up first place for first time in program history
KINGSTON, Ont. – The UOIT women's soccer team will finish the OUA season in first place in the east division.
With their 4-1 win over the RMC Paladins on Sunday and an Ottawa Gee-Gees loss to Laurentian, the Ridgebacks officially claimed top spot in their division.
"Our players and coaches have worked hard all season, so to have them finish first is a great accomplishment and we're proud of them," said UOIT manager of intercollegiate athletics Scott Barker. "I know that they will continue to work hard towards their goal after they wrap up the regular season and am excited to see how we do in the postseason."
Cassandra Sribny (Pickering, Ont.) opened scoring for UOIT in the fifth minute of play.
In the 28th minute Jessica Mithrush (Thunder Bay, Ont.) increased the lead to 2-0 before Rachel Matthews (Ajax, Ont.) scored the Ridgebacks third goal of the half in the 40th minute.
CeAnn Marks (Brampton, Ont.) scored the fourth goal of the match for the Ridgebacks in the 50th minute.
For the Paladins it was a 72nd minute goal by Charlotte Jory that ruined Victoria Savage's (Woodbridge, Ont.) clean sheet.
Savage made six saves in the win for UOIT, while Alexandria Hogg made 10 saves in RMC's loss.
Next Saturday the Ridgebacks wrap up conference play in Peterborough against the Trent Excalibur. Kick-off is 1 p.m.
Source: UOIT Ridgebacks
Ravens held to 2-2 draw with Nipissing
NORTH BAY, ON — The Ravens women's soccer team played out their third consecutive draw in a 2-2 finish against the Nipissing Lakers.
It was lively first half that saw the teams combine to score four goals in the opening forty-five minutes, but the action cooled off in the second as neither side could produce a winner in a tense, playoff-like meeting.
With Carleton and Nipissing still jostling for ground in the standings, both teams came out flying to get the early leg up. Defender Sarah Zutrauen (Ottawa, ON) continued to impress with her great run of form, as she put the Ravens on the board in the 2nd minute.
Up by a goal, Carleton held onto the lead for a large portion of the first half, but a scoring flurry near the intermission changed the dynamic of the game in a matter of minutes.
After applying some pressure, Nipissing levelled the game at 1-1, thanks to a goal by Renee Clarke. With the momentum briefly swinging in the home team's favour, Carleton remained keen on gaining back their advantage.
Winger Abby Nicastro (Ottawa, ON) helped the Ravens go back up by sniping her fourth goal of the season in the 44th minute, however, the Lakers would catch Carleton sleeping on the cusp of halftime, tying the game at 2-2 in the final moments leading up to the break.
The second had an abundance of action at both ends as well, but the Ravens and Lakers battled to a goalless half. Carleton registered eight shots on net in the final forty-five minutes of play, and Ravens keeper Rada Mintchev (Ottawa, ON) was equally as busy as she denied seven of Nipissing's scoring chances on target.
With two games to play in the regular season, Carleton sits in fifth place in the OUA East standings. The Ravens have clinched a playoff spot since the Lakers cannot mathematically catch Carleton, even if the Ravens fail to register any points in their last two fixtures. Carleton can also gain some ground in the playoff picture next weekend, but they'll likely need a few wins in order to host a postseason game at MNP Park.
Source: Carleton Ravens
Voyageurs top Gee-Gees, clinch playoff berth
On Sunday, the Women's Soccer team took on the Ottawa Gee-Gees in a fierce battle of speed and skill. The beautiful weather wasn't the only thing that brightened the Vees' day as they beat the Gee-Gees, winning 2-1.
The Voyageurs immediately set the pace with Sarah Sanford, assisted by Amanda Kwan, scoring in the first five minutes of play. The teams were very evenly matched with much of the game being played at midfield as both teams fought for possession. The Voyageurs kept the pressure on and were able to keep the momentum up as Brianne Rodrigue scored an unassisted goal to put the score up 2-0 for Laurentian. The Gee-Gees were able to respond with a goal of their own by Kayla Da Costa-Pacheco. The remainder of the first half saw incredible defense from Laurentian, as well as some great passing.
Going into the second half, the Gee-Gees dominated the first few minutes of play until the Vees got back into their rhythm. Laurentian kept possession and continued to display their fantastic defense. Despite several shots on goal by Ottawa, goalie Caitlin McNamara made incredible saves, keeping the Voyageurs in the lead. Throughout the half, there was a lot more back and forth as both teams strived to score again. As the final minutes counted down, the Gee-Gees upped the pressure but the Vees were able to maintain their lead and block out all of Ottawa's attempts. Despite an intense last five minutes, the Voyageurs were victorious as they won 2-1.
Source: Laurentian Voyageurs
Mustangs shut out Laurier in final regular season home game
LONDON, Ont. – Fourth-year midfielder Stefanie Di Tella recorded her seventh goal of the season to lead the Western Mustangs women's soccer team to their second straight 2-0 win over the Laurier Golden Hawks on Sunday afternoon on Mustangs Field.
"It's great to go out on a win. It gives us a really good chance of finishing high in the standings and we'll get a chance to play at home for sure in the playoffs," said Western head coach Martin Painter. "We still have first and second place to play for. We have two big games on the road, but it was great to end the home schedule with a win."
With the win, the Mustangs maintain their undefeated record and improve to 9-0-5 on the season, good for third place in the OUA West Division with a chance to move into first place in the next two games. With the loss, Laurier will move to 4-4-6 on the season, remaining in fifth place in the division.
As consistent as Di Tella has been all season, she continued to shine offensively against a physical Laurier team. Di Tella would challenge Laurier's defence by maintaining constant energy on the field, while playing nearly the entire match.
One other Mustang found the back of the net, as second-year defender Sonja Cvetkovic would score for the second game in a row to help give Western their initial lead off of a Jenna White corner kick.
Saturday was the final home game of the regular season for the Mustangs, and for the seniors, their final regular season contest at Mustangs Field. Both teams played with physicality early on, but neither team was able to capitalize on scoring chances until a corner kick from White would lead to the Cvetkovic goal. Di Tella's goal would come midway through the second half, sealing the victory for the purple and white.
"It's always a tough game against Laurier, and credit to them. They come to compete every single time they go on the field," said Painter, commending Laurier's efforts. "It was good that we stepped up and rose to the occasion to match that."
"Being a senior and coming in with that group of girls, we've really just given it our all for four years. It's a big accomplishment for us and we all couldn't be happier that we did it at Western," commented White, reflecting on her years as a Mustang.
The Mustangs will be back in action this Thursday, October 20, when they travel to Guelph to take on the Gryphons. The game is set to begin at 8:15 p.m.
Source: Western Mustangs
Bartram hat-trick helps Gaels win final home game of regular season
KINGSTON, Ont. (October 16, 2016) – The Queen's Gaels (9-4-1) crushed the Trent Excalibur (2-12-1) 9-0 in the final home game of regular season, with Tara Bartram (Vancouver) banking her first CIS hat-trick in the win.
GAME FLOW
The Gaels put on a massive amount of pressure to start the game and it wasn't long before they held possession of the first half. Queen's was strong on offence and created many scoring opportunities through crosses towards the net. In the 13th minute of the game Bartram placed the ball in the back of the net with an assist by Lauren Winquist (London, Ont). Minutes later, Bartram scored her second, tapping the ball in after a cross from Savannah Meyer Clement (Oshawa, Ont) slipped by the Trent goalie's fingertips. In the 25th minute of the game, Laura Callender (Ottawa) took a goal of her own, taking a hard shot from inside the six yard box, with an assist from Bartram. To end the first half, Winquist scored a beautiful goal, beating two Trent defenders and the Trent goalie.
In the second half, the Gaels maintained their high level of intensity and composure, but subbed out starting keeper Madison Tyrell (White Rock, B.C.) for Alanna Richardson (Glencoe, Ont). Bartram snatched a third goal for a hat-trick in the 53rd minute of the game. Three minutes later, Brittany Almeida (Kingston,Ont) put one on the score board with a shot in the top right corner of the net. Jenny Wolever (Toronto, Ont) entered the game in the second half and quickly got to work sending multiple shots on goal. In the 67th minute, Lidia Bradau (Woodbridge, Ont) brought the score up to 7-0 for the Gaels, and only four minutes later Matija Skoko (Toronto, Ont) took it up one more with a goal off a Wolever corner kick. Wolever bumped the score up to 9-0 with a hard shot from inside the 18 yard box in the final five minutes of the game.
BY THE NUMBERS
9 – nine goals for the Gaels
2 – two games left in regular season
36 – 36 shots for the Gaels
1 – one yellow card, received by Trent
FINAL SAY
"We are excited to play in the stadium and people are excited to show support here for us. It's exciting going to playoffs, and we're ending the season with a ton of confidence which is great." – Tara Bartram, 4th year forward
UP NEXT
The ladies take on the Nipissing Lakers (4-7-3) in North Bay on Saturday, October 22 at 12pm.
Source: Queen's Gaels
Chretien, Lancers tie Hawks; dominate Warriors
The Lancer women's soccer team earned some important points in the OUA standings this weekend at home.
Windsor tied the Laurier Golden Hawks 2-2 on Friday night before defeating the Waterloo Warriors 3-1 on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Field.
The weekend gives the Lancers a 7-1-6 record to sit in fourth place, just one game back of third.
On Friday, the Lancers built a two goal lead with a pair of goals from Cassie Chretien.
The Hawks came back in the second half and applied a tremendous amount of pressure on the Lancer defense. The strategy worked and they managed two goals in the final 45 minutes to earn the tie.
On Sunday, the Warriors took an early 1-0 before the Lancers retaliated with three goals in the second half to secure the victory.
Chretien was once again on fire, scoring another pair of goals. Windsor's third goal was scored by fourth year senior Becca Feurth.
The Lancers will now head on the road for their final two games of the regular season. They will face the York Lions next Saturday at 1:00pm before closing out the year against Guelph on Sunday October 23rd.
Source: Windsor Lancers
Lions top Badgers to remain first in OUA West
The York University Lions women's soccer team stormed the field on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 16) and they defended their home turf at Alumni Field with a 1-0 victory over the Brock Badgers.
The victory was the Lions' 10th on the season as they now have a record of 10-1-3 and 33 points, giving them top spot in the OUA West Division. They have a one-point lead over Western and a three-point advantage over Guelph with two games remaining. For Brock the loss gives them a record of 4-9-1 and they are five points behind Laurier for the sixth and final playoff spot.
The match was filled with both teams racing to move the ball into each other's end. No player on either team seemed to be able to find a way to succeed in enemy territory in the first half. With the score still deadlocked just before the half, Kiyani Johnson (Markham, Ont.) scored in the 41st minute of play on an incredible goal. She came racing down the field into the 18-yard box and just before she was forced out of bounds she sliced the ball, beating the goalkeeper's angle all the way to the opposite post.
The astounding goal would be the only major to be scored in the match as the second half contained more defending than offensive action. York's defence was a sight to see, as they seemed to be impenetrable. They played so well that goalkeeper Taylor Grant (Brampton, Ont.) only had to make one save in the game to preserve the clean sheet.
The Lions have an important final weekend as they look to secure a first-round bye in the playoffs and their next game will take place on Saturday (Oct. 22) when the Windsor Lancers will attempt to take down the first-place Lions at Alumni Field beginning at 1pm.
Source: York Lions
