Following a disastrous 6-0 road loss to the Queen’s Gaels on Sept. 8, the Carleton Ravens women’s soccer team bounced back with a pair of wins during their weekend homestand at TAAG Park.
The Ravens cruised to a 3-0 win over the Laurentian Voyageurs on Sept. 17 after edging out the Nipissing Lakers 1-0 on Sept. 16.
The first win, which came as an upset against this week’s 10th-ranked team in U Sports, was a much-needed reset after the previous weekend’s game where nothing went right.
“[It was] a good rebound game for us,” said Ravens head coach Dom Oliveri. “We had a bad day at Queen’s against a very good team, and you can’t do that in this league.”
Carleton was abysmal in Kingston, registering just one shot on goal and completely failing to keep the Gaels to the outside.
“All week it’s been about bouncing back and having a good game today,” Oliveri said. “We always start a little slow, but we played our way into it in the second half.”
Despite another slow start against the Lakers, the Ravens pushed the play in the second half and finally broke the deadlock in the 63rd minute with forward Salena Devellis’ marker.
A determined Ravens team shut down the Lakers’ offence to close out the match, displaying a defensively sound game that was missing against Queen’s.
That defensive style carried over the next day against Laurentian, as Carleton limited the Voyageurs to just one shot through 90 minutes and looked utterly dominant at times.
Midfielder Ana Itoafa, forward Mikayla Moser and defender Mia Hollingsworth all scored for the Ravens as they took down the Voyageurs to close out a successful weekend.
After seeing two very different-looking Ravens teams week-over-week, Oliveri highlighted the competitive disparity in the OUA East division.
He explained the women’s soccer programs at Queen’s and uOttawa have been built for decades by the same coaches, while his staff is only entering its fifth season together.
“We’re still relatively new here as a coaching staff,” Oliveri said. “[Queen’s and uOttawa’s] coaches have been there for 20-plus years, so it takes time to build that type of program, and we’re on our way.”
With a win over a quality Lakers squad, the Ravens proved they’re capable of punching above their weight.
“I don’t think the game against Queen’s was a good indication of what we can do,” Oliveri said. “Hopefully we get another chance at them in the playoffs.”
Carleton currently sits third in the OUA East division with a 3-1-2 record. The team looks forward to their match against the RMC Paladins Sept. 30 at TAAG Park.
Featured image by Marc Lafleur.
