One by one, the Carleton Ravens women’s soccer team trudged off of Matt Anthony Field.
With the rain pouring down from above, each player was emotionally and physically drained. Yet it was clear that each of them was coming to one singular conclusion: that the Ravens’ season was sadly ended Oct. 28 after a narrow 1-0 semi-final playoff defeat to their arch-rivals, the Ottawa Gee-Gees.
In stark contrast to the collective relief that swept through Ravens Field following the men’s 6-3 overtime victory over the Ryerson Rams, the women were visibly disconsolate after having succumbed to a debilitating first-half strike by Gee-Gees forward Pilar Khoury. It was a goal that would ultimately catapult the number one ranked hosts into a Final Four Championship match against the Laurier Golden Hawks.
“[We are] heartbroken. It was a good game. We got the opportunity to match them again and today we showed up, we played, and we were almost there,” Ravens goalkeeper Rachel Bedek said.
“There was no shame in losing that game,” head coach Alex McNutt said.
“They should take a lot of pride in their performance. They’re obviously gutted, because this team is all about getting to that next level and we’ve been so close now for the last five years. We just haven’t been able to clear that hurdle.”
The Ravens approached the game hoping to beat the Gee-Gees for the first time since October 2008, a daunting challenge magnified further by the fact that no team in the OUA (Ontario University Athletics) East division had overcome the Gee-Gees this season.
That history was almost re-written in the early going of this hotly-contested tie when Adrianna Ruggiero’s fifth-minute shot was parried around the post by Gee-Gees goalkeeper Cynthia Leblanc.
Leblanc was called into action once more on the half-hour mark when Ravens left-back Alexandra McIntyre took advantage of a defensive error at the back post following a free kick.
Despite having the better opportunities, the Ravens were unable to score on a team who had conceded just one goal during the entire regular season.
The Gee-Gees managed to maintain their stranglehold on the game, putting the Ravens under sustained pressure for the majority of the first half.
Led by veteran stalwarts Briana De Souza and Valerie Hamilton, the Ravens defended heroically at times, preventing the Gee-Gees from carving out any real clear-cut chances.
Unfortunately for Carleton, their defensive resistance was eventually broken.
Latching onto a clever through ball in the 36th minute, Khoury, who had been relatively ineffective for most of the first half, drilled the ball into the bottom left corner ahead of a sliding De Souza, who was unable to block the goal-bound effort.
It was a momentary lapse by the Ravens, who were caught defensively out of shape for the first time in the game. The fact that Khoury was able to score so instinctively was a testament to the quality of the Gee-Gees, who were clinical when they needed to be.
It was a feeling shared by a resigned McNutt, who admitted that his side had been undone by the Gee-Gees’ superior technical acumen.
“I think we really limited their chances and we were defensively very very organized,” he said.
“It was just on the goal, it was one moment where we lost shape a little bit and then the switch came, we weren’t able to just react and deal with the situation. That one mistake, they punished us and that’s the sign of a good team, so its credit to them. They get that [one chance], they get in and [they] score.”
The Ravens, who struggled to move the ball decisively into the final third, especially in the second half, did not similarly match the ruthlessness of the Gee-Gees.
Even the introduction of Abby Nicastro, Megan Sapienza and Andrea Way at half-time did little to affect the game, as the Gee-Gees wore the Ravens down with their dominance in possession.
Once the final whistle sounded, there was jubilation from a home crowd who had braved the elements to witness a momentous victory. As for the Ravens, they were left to wonder what might have been.
“I don’t think there’s one girl that’ll wish that she’d given more,” Bedek said. “I saw us play the best we have all season.”
The rain did little to dampen the spirits of McNutt, who remained optimistic about the Ravens’ future as they begin preparations for next season.
“We’ve still got a young team, we’ve got a lot of second years, some good first years coming in.”
“There will be a couple of losses this year in terms of some vets, but we’ve still got a solid nucleus. They’ll be better next year, we’ll be pushing.”
