While the rest of Carleton was still trying to recover from the madness of the Panda Game, the Carleton Ravens women’s soccer team was getting ready to start their own version of the match, playing host to their bitter rivals, the University of Ottawa (U of O) Gee-Gee’s.
The last time these two teams met, history was made as the Ravens trounced the Gee-Gees 4-0 for their first win ever in the cross town match-up, but there wasn’t a repeat as the Gee-Gee’s were able to outplay their opponents on a rainy Sunday afternoon Sept. 21.
The game began with a sloppy first half, with neither team being able to control the ball on the wet grounds. The first 15 minutes of the game were a back-and-forth affair with lots of fouls and missed opportunities with the ball being over hit on the wet turf.
As the game progressed, the Gee-Gees were able to get a hold on the game and start to put pressure on the Ravens net, forcing second-year goalkeeper Rada Mintchev to come up with a number of saves to deny the Gee-Gee forwards.
“She kept us in the game and could have easily been a 5-0 game,” fourth-year midfielder and Ravens captain Veronica Mazzella said.
Despite the dominance of the Gee-Gees in the first half, the Ravens managed to escape the half unharmed in a goalless draw.
In the second half the Ravens continued to struggle on their home turf, unable to record a shot on net, while the Gee-Gees remained on top of the game in front of the Ravens faithful, and in the 48th minute were able to find the go-ahead goal.
The Ravens were unable to clear the ball out of their end after a Gee-Gees corner and after a scrum in the box, the ball was deflected off of a Gee-Gee forward, over the head of Mintchev and into the back of the net.
After the goal, the Ravens were able to mount some pressure on the Gee-Gees back line, but in this game there would be no last minute goal to salvage a point for the home team.
After the game, Mazzella said the loss came down to mental preparations and not playing well as a team.
“We didn’t play well as a team, we didn’t come to perform as a team,” she said. “I think we might have taken it a bit too lightly. In previous years we would get too hyped as a team, but on Sunday I felt as though we took it as one of the weaker teams we were playing, not [U of O].”
With the loss, the Ravens fall to 4-2-1 and third in the Ontario University Athletics East Division. They will look to improve at home as the Nipissing Lakers and Laurentian Voyageurs come to town on Sept. 27-28.
