October 18, 2010

W-SOCCER ROUNDUP: Laurier clinches OUA West title

Toronto Varsity Blues @ Queen’s Gaels
 
Gaels' keeper Elena Corry of Hamilton, Ont., stopped all 12 shots she faced to help the No. 6 Queen's Gaels clinch a 3-0 victory over the Toronto Varsity Blues at Richardson Stadium Sunday afternoon.

Jennifer Hutchison of St. John's, Nfld., got the Gaels on the board with a goal in the 25th minute and Jacqueline Tessier of Winnipeg, Man., followed with a goal of her own in the 42nd minute to make the score 2-0 at halftime.

Kelli Chamberlain of North Bay, Ont., put one in the bottom left corner in the opening minutes of the second half to round out the scoring.

Corry's shutout means that Queen's keepers have now posted seven shutouts this season.

The Gaels win improves their record to 12-2 as they moved three points clear of the Ottawa Gee Gees, who picked up on tie on Sunday.
 
 
Laurentian Voyageurs @ Ottawa Gee-Gees

With playoffs just around the corner, a 0-0 draw with the Laurentian Voyageurs was not the outcome the Gee-Gees would have preferred, but it is certainly still better than a loss.

Despite an absence of goals, there was certainly a physical presence on the field as both teams continued to battle hard to score a goal.

“It was a good physical game. It was a playoff type of match, so it’s going to prepare us well going into the post season to have a physical battle like this.”

Third-year midfield Tara Condos, Strathroy, Ont., agreed with Johnson about the outcome of the game: “It’s a disappointing tie. We would have liked to come out with a win. We’re going to review this game and take as much positive as we can out of it.”
 
Condos was one of many Gee-Gee palyers who displayed great determination and fought hard, especially after she took a hard ball to the face in the first half.

“We’re going to definitely go in to every other game hoping to win. It would be good going into playoffs with a strong record,” adds Condos.

 
Nipissing Lakers @ Carleton Ravens

The Carleton University Ravens women’s soccer team came away with a huge win on Sunday, defeating the Nipissing University Lakers 4-2 at home.

With the win, Carleton’s record improves to 7-4-3 for 24 points and third place in the OUA East standings. The Ravens are battling for a top-four spot in order to get home-field advantage in the opening round of the playoffs.

Carleton had the majority of scoring chances to open the game. The first came when Shayla LaVecchia (Ottawa) played a good ball to Briana De Souza (Pickering, Ont.) but her shot hit the crossbar. Her rebound came back to LaVecchia who let go of a great shot, but Lakers keeper Samantha Behm (Winchester, Ont.) came up with the big save.

Minutes later, Ravens leading scorer, Amanda Ngwafusi (Ottawa), crossed to Samantha Nealon (Ottawa) but for the second time in the match Carleton couldn’t beat the woodwork as she hit the post.

Despite the Ravens pressure, it was the Lakers that opened the scoring. The ball came to the middle of the goal in the six-yard box off a free kick and Valaine Confesor (Toronto) was there for the easy finish.

Ngwafusi continued to have a strong game for Carleton and her hard work paid off as she got the Ravens on the board early in the second half. The Ravens took the lead 10 minutes later when LaVecchia put away an easy tap in from inside the six-yard box.

Nipissing answered right back though when Shannon McLeod (Port Dover, Ont.) beat Ravens keeper Rachel Bedek (St. Thomas, Ont.) off a free kick to tie the game at two.

Ngwafusi regained the Ravens lead 10 minutes later when she chipped the ball into the top corner to score a beautiful goal. It was her eighth marker of the year, moving her into the top five in OUA scoring. The Ravens continued to pressure Nipissing’s back four as the game wound down and LaVecchia added another goal in injury time to give Carleton the 4-2 victory.

 
McMaster Marauders @ Laurier Golden Hawks
 
The no. four nationally ranked Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks (10-1-2) clinched first place in the OUA West with a 3-1 victory over the McMaster Marauders (7-4-3).
The Golden Hawks dominated the game with 18 shots compared to McMaster’s five and accumulated three goals. The scorers for Laurier were Alyssa Lagonia (Kitchener, Ont.), Heather Malizia (Burlington, Ont.) and Ali McKee (Bracebridge, Ont.). McMaster’s Robin Mawson (West Vancouver, B.C.) also managed to get her team on the scoreboard.

McMaster’s goalie Brittney Duffey (Markham, Ont.) made 10 saves and Laurier’s goalie Mal Woeller (Kinburn, Ont.) made four.
 
Windsor Lancers @ Brock Badgers

The Brock University women's soccer team (4-6-1 OUA) defeated the Windsor Lancers by the score of 3-0 Saturday afternoon at home. Freshman standout Larissa Bruzzese (Welland, Ont.) set a new Brock single season record adding two more goals for a season total of seven.

In one of their top performances this season the Badgers were able to find a balance between offense and defense in dowing the Lancers.  Bruzzese opened the scoring for Brock using her speed and quick moves in the 35th minute and Brock went into the half with up 1-0.

The Badgers started quickly in the second half when third-year forward Alex Esposito scored her first of the season when she was able to dump the ball over the head of the Windsor keeper, Rebecca Singer. Bruzzese picked up her record breaking goal in injury time to make the final 3-0.

Brock's team defense was strong and was led by veterans Stephanie DiMartino (Markham, Ont.), Dayna Haig (Toronto, Ont.) and Carrie Kalata (Oakville, Ont.).  Badgers keeper Syreeta Rhoden (Niagara Falls, Ont.) also played a strong game, making eight saves to pick up the shutout.

With the victory the Badgers move into a tie for 5th place in the OUA West division and trail Western by only one point for 4th spot.

 
Western Mustangs @ York Lions

The York University Lions women’s soccer team erased a one-goal deficit with two unanswered goals in the second half to defeat the Western Mustangs by a score of 2-1 in their match on Sunday (Oct. 17) at York Stadium.

With the win, the Lions (5-6-1) take over fourth place in the OUA West division with two games remaining this season, while the Mustangs (4-6-2) fall to fifth.

The Lions were able to overcome a tentative first half with a confident second in which they stole all momentum away from the Mustangs by scoring two early goals. After the goals, the Lions played shutdown defence for the remainder of the match and collected a well-earned three points.

The Lions dominated possession in the first half, but the Mustangs found the scoreboard first courtesy of a defensive error by the Lions. In the 24th minute, Mustangs forward Courtney Stocks (North York, Ont.) received a pass behind the Lions defence and was brought down in the 18-yard box before she could get a shot off, resulting in a penalty kick. Stocks converted the penalty with a well-placed shot that beat a diving Sarah Fiorini (Newmarket, Ont.).

The Lions could not find a goal before halftime even though they had the better scoring chances. Rookie midfielder Emma Gattoni (Thornhill, Ont.) had two golden opportunities to score, but could not convert. Early in the half, she stormed into the Mustangs’ zone all alone off a great forward pass, but she could not beat an aggressive Melanie Oberholzer (Kitchener, Ont.) who came out of her area to challenge the shot. Gattoni’s second chance came later in the half off a great cross into the 18-yard box, but her header sailed high over the Mustangs’ goal.

Lions rookie forward Sonia Sampogna (Toronto) showed great hustle all half, blocking passes and creating turnovers with her speed and aggressive play. Her energy set the tone for the entire half and helped keep the Lions in the match.
Within the first two minutes of the second half, the Lions found an equalizing goal off a quick attack up the pitch. Nicole Markowitz (Toronto) sent a nice ball through Oberholzer’s area to Camille Pereira (Mississauga, Ont.) who fired it home just under the crossbar.  

The Lions took the lead in the 56th minute off a harmless free kick that caused a lot of problems for the Mustangs. Oberholzer made a routine leap to secure the ball, but bobbled it instead, and in the ensuing scramble, Western’s Sara Ogle mistakenly redirected the ball into her own goal. The goal was credited to Sampogna, who deserved it given her exceptional play.

The Lions did not let up following the goal, choosing instead to put forth a balanced attack that kept the Mustangs on their toes. Pereira and Sampogna continued to attack the Mustangs’ goal and generated multiple solid scoring chances in the final minutes of play. The Mustangs had a difficult time breaking through the Lions defence late, which did a good job of limiting shots against and ultimately shutdown the Mustangs for the remainder of the match.

Fiorini had an easy afternoon in goal for the Lions; the only shot recorded by the Mustangs in the match was on the penalty kick goal by Stocks.   

 
 
OUA SCHEDULE AND RESULTS
 
October 16
Laurentian, 1 @ Carleton, 1
Ryerson, 0 @ Queen’s, 2
Trent, 0 @  RMC, 3
Nipissing, 0 @ Ottawa, 3
Windsor, 0 @ Brock, 3
Waterloo, 0 @ McMaster, 4
 
October 17
Nipissing, 2 @ Carleton, 4
Guelph, 2 @ Waterloo, 1
Brock, 0 @ Windsor, 0
Western, 1 @ York, 2
McMaster, 1 @ Laurier, 3
Toronto, 0 @ Queen’s, 3
Ryerson, 2 @ RMC, 2
Laurentian, 0 @ Ottawa, 0
 
October 20
1:00pm – Guelph @ Brock
6:00pm – Toronto @ Trent
6:30pm – Windsor @ Western
7:00pm – Ottawa @ Carleton
 
October 23
12:00pm – RMC @ Laurentian
12:00pm – Queen’s @ Nipissing
1:00pm – Guelph @ York
1:00pm – Carleton @ Ryerson
1:00pm – Trent @ Toronto
 
October 24
12:00pm – Queen’s @ Laurentian
12:00pm – RMC @ Nipissing
1:00pm – Windsor @ York
1:00pm – Western @ Brock
1:00pm – Waterloo @ Laurier
1:00pm – Ottawa @ Toronto
1:00pm – Ryerson @ Trent