“Night and day,” was how manager Dom Oliveri characterised the Carleton women’s soccer team’s performance over the weekend.
On Sept. 28 against the Trent University Excalibur, the Ravens were outplayed, falling to a 2-0 defeat. But come Sept. 29, they were unlucky not take all 3 points from Ontario Tech University and battled for a 1-1 draw.
Before kick-off on Saturday, the team was on a bad run of form, but could’ve climbed to sixth place and a play-off position by the end of the weekend.
Carleton started under pressure but seemed to be coping.
That was until the 10th minute, when a spectacular goal for Trent gave Carleton an uphill climb.
The defence were keeping Trent’s play restricted to the edge of the box, until some neat dribbling and interplay landed the ball at Violet Hipkin’s feet on the corner of the box and she placed the ball into the far top corner beyond Sophie Ehlebracht’s glove.
It was a scrappy game, played predominantly around the halfway line, with the midfield showing their physicality. The forwards worked hard in applying pressure, but were not rewarded with any clear-cut chances.
Any chance of a comeback evaporated with Trent’s second goal in the 68th minute. Cherilyn Yeboah received the ball on Carleton’s 18-yard line, and used her strength and skill to fashion a goal scoring opportunity. With a low and powerful drive across goal, the ball hit off the post and doubled Trent’s lead.
From that point onwards, the game was “an unacceptable performance,” according to Oliveri.
Looking ahead to the next game against Ontario Tech, the Ravens played with a completely different mentality and Oliveri called it a “180-degree performance change.”
Carleton’s performance was clearly not unplanned, and certainly better than the day before.
Right from the start you could see the players were up for it, and more organized.
Striker Cheyenne Bent talked of how, after a rough period, the team “finally connected,” and it was visibly evident.
“The past few games have been devastating, and I think we finally connected tonight, and we just worked our hardest,” said Bent.
“I’m so proud of the team, I think it just came down to effort, and it showed. We came back from 1-0 to tie the game.”
They were smarter in their pressure, hunting down Ontario Tech players in groups rather than individually, and using the width afforded by MNP Park to better control possession.
But a game can change at any moment and within seven minutes of the second-half, Carleton was behind yet again.
Against the run of play, Ontario Tech managed to break down the left-wing and fashioned a cross into the box which should have been cleared, but some panicked defensive muddling gifted the ball to Leah Storms, who couldn’t miss from six yards out.
For a while, it looked like Carleton was heading for another loss. Their frustration was visible – some were seeming to crack and yellow cards were flying, some of which arguably could have been reds.
Though the team was rewarded in the 76th minute as defender Jordyn DeAveiro scored a header from a free kick to tie the game at 1-1 and brought some spirit back to the team.
Encouraged by the goal, Carleton played with freedom and belief not seen throughout the weekend. Unfortunately, fatigue and some very questionable officiating left both sides with a solitary point.
Late into the game, Carleton had a couple shouts for a penalty, but nothing was given. Both Oliveri and Bent thought the referee made the wrong call.
Oliveri thought there should have been a penalty “100 per cent,” adding, “that sort of contentious decision seems to happen at home all the time.”
But despite the appeals, the game finished, and Carleton was left to regroup for their next challenge.
They are still only four points off sixth place, and there is still lots of opportunity to claim that prized playoff spot, said Oliveri.
“This league is insane, anybody can beat anybody on any week, anyone on their day can win, and there’s still a lot of points on the board,” said the coach.
“You’re never out of it until you’re mathematically out of it, and we’re not mathematically out of it at this point.”
The team will return to MNP Park on Oct. 6 against city rivals Ottawa University Gee Gees at 1 p.m.
Feature image by Tim Austen
