The cool, damp weather conditions seemed to easily reflect the mood on the field as the Carleton women’s varsity soccer team closed their regular season with a 2-0 loss to the Queen’s University Golden Gaels at Keith Harris Stadium Oct. 24.
The Gaels offence kept play in the Raven’s end of the field for the majority of the first half, scoring eight minutes into the game.
Yet Ravens goalkeeper Rachel Bedek held her own, making spectacular saves on a number of occasions.
Raven defenders Laura Mancuso, Valerie Hamilton and Kayla Wood stepped up their game, preventing a late goal before halftime.
The Carleton women exploded onto the field after halftime with new life in an attempt to tie the game.
Despite fantastic efforts by midfielder Amanda Ngwafusi and forward Shayla LaVecchia, the Ravens couldn’t catch up.
The Gaels scored again with seven minutes left in the game, yet the girls battled on until the last whistle, as midfielders Jennifer Crichton and Aisha Stinson showed the Gaels they still had game.
Head coach Alex McNutt was proud of the team’s results.
“It took us a little while to get going,” McNutt said.
“There’s no shame in today’s game, we played well against the top team.”
McNutt said going into the playoffs, the team faces the same challenge they did today.
“We just have to keep raising our heads and going at it again.”
The Ravens go into the Ontario University Athletics playoffs with a 6-8-2 record.