The Carleton Ravens women’s soccer team was held to one draw and one win for their last two games of the 2019 season.
On Oct. 19, the Ravens took on the Ryerson University Rams in a rematch from the previous weekend and came away with a 1-1 draw.
From the first whistle, Carleton was doing well to defend, led by Elodie Sylvain and Monica Anthony at the back, but Ryerson opted to do a lot of work along the wings.
Both teams were moving fluidly along the pitch, but nobody had any clear chances. Ravens forward Chloe Doherty had an opportunity but couldn’t control the ball quickly enough.
By the time halftime rolled around, neither team could break through the deadlock.
Heading into the second 45 minutes, it was difficult for both teams to keep the ball on the ground, thus limiting the flow of the game.
At one point, the Rams tried to pick out goalkeeper Sara Wicks and while they were unsuccessful, some confusion amongst the Ravens defenders almost made it a close call.
The remainder of the game maintained little action until some late drama came from either side.
The Ravens seemed poised for a big win, but those thoughts were shattered within seconds as Ryerson tied it at 1-1, after miscommunication at the back left Wicks out of position and allowed Vittoria Gallivan to hoof the ball into an open net.
Moving forward, the Ravens still had some gas left in them but were unable to find the winning goal and were held to a draw.
Before the clock started running ahead of the last game of the season on Oct. 20, the Department of Recreation and Athletics congratulated three graduating players on their careers as Ravens: captain Sarah Zutrauen, midfielder Michelle Wilson and goalkeeper Sara Wicks.
The Ravens were gifted a 2-0 win over the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, which ended the season in good spirits.
As the game got underway, the team was eager to start strong and was able to take the lead after only six minutes.
Doherty picked out a loose ball and dragged her defender down the right wing while teammate Cheyenne Bent was running through the middle.
Even though the number 10 was tightly followed by the U of T defender, Doherty perfectly placed the pass to her feet and Bent was able to poke it past goalkeeper Maddy Nardin to make it 1-0.
Despite having a deficit so early in the game, the Varsity Blues were not slowing down and played very systematically at MNP Park.
However, the creativity from the Ravens put them in a comfortable position, and Toronto was struggling to create any chances.
The Ravens doubled their lead in the 17th minute thanks to Youma Konate putting the ball into the back of the net and her body on the line in the process. She was then was substituted off for precautionary measures after a suspected head injury.
At halftime, the score remained 2-0 for the hosts.
In the next 45 minutes, the Ravens could not increase their 2-0 lead despite forcing five saves from Nardin.
In the end, the team was able to continue their strong defensive performance and ended their season, and some of their careers, on a high note.
Carleton finished 8th-place in the OUA East standings, boasting a 2-8-4 record for the 2019 season and missing out on the playoffs.
The Ravens were handed a tough battle off the pitch this season thanks to many players picking up injuries, which added difficulties according to head coach Dom Oliveri.
“[Today] the kids, they executed our game plan. To be fair, I think this has been coming for a few weeks now, the story of our season is injury…It’s really hard to overcome,” said Oliveri.
“This is one of those one off seasons. I’ve been coaching for 20 years and I’ve never seen anything like this, where a team gets this many injuries, they play so well and don’t get the results their supposed to get based off the play. We’ll be back in the play-offs next year.”
“I think all of our graduating players had some really great seasons, they set a pathway for the players moving forward…they’ve done a really good job at setting how this program is going to look moving forward” said Oliveri.
“[Wilson] she’s a kid that came over [from Algonquin] and instantly helped us change the culture…[for Wicks] it’s very rare you get a transfer of her caliber…she’s been absolutely fantastic.”
One senior who played her final game as a Raven was captain Sarah Zutrauen, who has been vital to the development of the program at Carleton over her five years.
“You don’t replace a player like Zutrauen, just a fantastic kid off the field, tremendous captain on the field,” said Oliveri.
“I feel bad for her to be honest that she doesn’t get to experience the joys of the program moving forward… but I hope she leaves here understanding that she’s the one that started the change.”
For the midfielder, ending her career stirs up “mixed emotions” but she will be back to support her team in the coming seasons.
“[It was] definitely an emotional game, it didn’t really hit me until the last whistle blew… I’ll miss being here every day competing as a Raven, it’s been a great experience,” said Zutrauen. “I’ll still be around, obviously supporting all my old teammates every weekend.”
Feature images and files from Tim Austen.
