It was heartbreak for the Carleton Ravens women’s soccer team on the evening of Oct. 27 at Keith Harris Stadium, as they saw their season come to an end with a first round playoff loss to the Laurentian Lady Vees.
Alana Brady scored twice for the Lady Vees in the 2-1 win to ensure an OUA quarterfinal matchup with the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees.
Brady scored her first goal just three minutes into the game when some sloppy defending allowed her capitalize on a free header from close range.
Buoyed by the early goal, the Lady Vees pushed hard for a second and almost got one through a shot from midfielder Dayna Corelli, but Ravens goalkeeper Anna Morsky was there to dive across and parry the ball out of harms way.
The Ravens chances in the first half were few and far between. Amanda Ngwafusi’s long range effort whistled just over the bar, while Shayla LaVecchia’s one-two with Alexandria Druggett couldn’t translate into an equalizer.
“I think we were a little flustered in the first-half,” said the Ravens lone goal scorer Melissa Baynes.
The Lady Vees continued to attack at the other end and were rewarded with a goal in the 35th minute, when Brady scored her second of the game courtesy of a nifty set-up in front.
The Ravens went into halftime down by a pair, knowing they would have to pick up their game if they were to mount a comeback in the final frame.
True to form, the home team started the second half on an attacking note, sending a couple of shots just wide of the target. The hard work paid off in the 57th minute when Baynes came off the bench and scored a brilliant goal. After completing a beautiful run down the right flank, Baynes let loose a scorching right-footed strike from 15 yards that kissed the crossbar before settling into the goal.
Needing another goal to extend their season, the Ravens pushed for an equalizer but the Lady Vees defence stood strong.
A counter-attack by the Vees saw striker Lisa Watson go one-on-one with Morsky, but the Ravens goalkeeper was quickly off her line and got a piece of Watson’s shot to steer the ball wide of the goal.
With less than five minutes to play, the Ravens pushed everyone forward in the quest for a goal. A few chances ensued but it wasn’t to be as the final whistle signalled the end of an eventful season for the Ravens.
There were a few tears on the field, as the fans who turned up to cheer on the Ravens at Keith Harris Stadium gave the players a standing ovation.
Ravens head coach Alex McNutt lamented the fact that his team was caught off set pieces against the Vees.
“Both the goals were from set pieces,” McNutt said “I think our start was a little up and down as well, we could have started more aggressively.”
However, with many new faces on the team this season, McNutt said he was pleased with the how the Ravens performed this season.
“It was a good season overall,” he said. “We had some good games and some not so good games. There were quite a few first year players [on] the team so we were a young team.”
With the loss, the Ravens bid farewell to four of its graduating seniors. Ngwafusi, LaVecchia, Kayla Wood, and Sierra Phillips will all be graduating from Carleton this year.