Banner Season: Gee-Gees go for elusive three-peat on the pitch against Lakers

Burlington, Ont. – An elusive three-peat is on the line for the host Ottawa Gee-Gees in the 2024 OUA Women’s Soccer Championship, but the Nipissing Lakers are hoping to prevent that in their banner season debut.

For Nipissing to come away with the win, they will need to turn the tides from their previous two meetings this season. Therein, Ottawa picked up all six points against their eventual championship combatants, including a convincing 5-0 win at Matt Anthony Field.

A Cassandra Provost hat trick led the way in that one, making it four goals for the East Division player of the year in the team’s two head-to-head clashes. Her tally in the other meeting – a tighter 2-1 victory for the Garnet and Grey – saw Provost net the equalizer and Nibo Dlamini complete the Gee-Gees comeback following all-star Taylor Schell’s opener for Nipissing.

Aside from those two defeats, the only other blemish on the Lakers’ season was a loss to Toronto late in the season. The impressive 8-3-1 mark on the year was enough for a second-place finish in the East – trailing only Ottawa (11-1-0) – and a bye in the first round of the postseason.

Turning their attention to the quarterfinals, Nipissing knocked off Queen’s in an instant classic, as the two teams combined for 10 goals therein. The teams went back and forth en route to a 4-4 tie through 90 minutes of play. Goals from Rylee Traicoff and Bella Nolte in extra time ultimately sealed the deal on Nipissing’s thrilling win, avenging their loss to the Gaels at that stage a season ago.

More late-game heroics shone in their semifinal clash with York. Nolte netted the opener for Nipissing, but the Lions found an equalizer less than seven minutes later. This time, Cassidy Brooks put the game on ice prior to extra time, pouncing on the loose ball in the 90th minute to put the North Bay squad into their first OUA final.

While it won’t be Ottawa’s championship debut, they did have to rely on a similarly grueling path to the provincial finale.

Having dropped only one game in the regular season – a 1-0 defeat at the hands of the Varsity Blues – the division-leading Gee-Gees’ first postseason tilt served up a chance to avenge that loss. Dlamini got her side in front in the sixth minute, but it was the second half of her brace that put them in front for good in the slim 2-1 victory.

Another fast start was featured in Ottawa’s semifinal with Guelph, but it was the latter doing the honours this time. Faced with an early deficit, Ottawa went into the break trailing the Gryphons. An Allana Oriente equalizer came early in the second half; however, setting up eventual penalty kicks to decide the winner.

Therein, Ottawa was able to net three of their first four attempts, but stealing the show was goalkeeper Cassidy Joslin. The second team all-star flipped the script on Guelph, turning away three of their first four shooters, including a diving stop against last year’s MVP Christina Gomes to seal the win.

While Joslin and co. will be instrumental in the Gee-Gees quest for a three-peat, Ottawa will certainly rely on Provost, their program’s all-time leading goal-scorer, to lead the charge up front. Adding to her already jam-packed varsity trophy case with her third straight OUA MVP nod, the striker from Acton Vale, Que. led the conference with 13 goals this year.

The most special of those tallies was her 59th career goal with the Gee-Gees, surpassing the team’s previous mark (58) held by Pilar Khoury.

Countering for Nipissing is their own standout striker. Brooks, a masters of science in kinesiology student from Belfountain, Ont., connected on 10 tallies in just nine games played. Bookending her impressive campaign was a blistering start that saw Brooks net her third-straight opening game hat trick, before coming through with the late semifinal winner to help get the Lakers to this point in the season.

Fellow veterans like defender Traicoff and midfielder Jessica Emerton, the latter of whom netted a hat trick in the team’s quarterfinal conquering of Queen’s, will also be key figures in the team’s title aspirations. They make up a handful of Nipissing’s six players with three-plus goals on the year and help showcase the depth they boast offensively en route to a third-best 37 tallies on the year.

They will be faced with a tall task to close out their conference campaign; however, as they will need to outperform an Ottawa team that topped the OUA in goals scored with 45, while also surrendering the fewest (4) this season behind the play of all-stars like Joslin in net and Maya Smith on defence.

Moving up the pitch, all-stars Dlamini, Eva Bouity, and Jenna Matsukubo will also be among those ready to contribute on the championship pitch.

The field will be flooded with all-stars, the teams will be feeling confident, and whether looking for a 12th OUA title like Ottawa or a first banner season victory like Nipissing, all eyes will be on a triumphant finish when that final whistle blows.