The Carleton Ravens women’s soccer team defeated the Queen’s Golden Gaels 3-2 in the season home opener on Sunday, Aug. 30.
The Ravens scored first when Tina Lacava netted one at the seventeenth minute.
“The girls were a lot more ready this year and because of that we had a huge recruiting class and couldn’t wait to get on,” said head coach Raz El-Asmar.
The Gaels responded soon after with a goal of their own by Brittany Almeada, tying the game.
Continuing with their streak, the Gaels gained a one-goal advantage over the Ravens with a free kick scored by Jessie de Boer following a foul, which occurred just outside the box.
The young Ravens didn’t get the start they wanted, ending the first half with a 2-1 deficit.
“There was a lot of jitters in the first half, being a young team and all the nervousness on the field,” El-Asmar said.
The Ravens entered the second half with a new-found energy, following the adjustment made to the line up, which put first-year forward Tori MacFarlane on as substitute. This call paid off as she tied the game.
“I think we just have more depth in the line-up this year and there seems to be more fighting spirits in us, we got tied back but came back and it might be our style this year,” El-Asmar said.
El-Asmar credits a big part of their win to teamwork and the leadership of their captain, Veronica Mazzella.
“To be honest it was a whole team work ethic, that really paid off in the end, but there is definitely our captain Ronnie in the middle, she’s such a leader, she’s like a rock, she controls things and leads in a positive manor, and she was really the player of the match for us,” El-Asmar said.
The home opener win meant more than just three points to defender Alexa Derksen.
“It was just pure joy, we haven’t beat Queen’s for five years so that was the first time we’ve beaten them so the fourth and fifth years, it means so much to them,” said Derksen.
Derksen said she hopes this foreshadows the rest of the season.
“We played super good and I’m really excited for the rest of the season,” Derksen said.
It was also special for Emily Copeland-Dinan, this being her first game back, after taking a season off.
She re-entered the team by scoring the go-ahead goal in front of cheering fans and fellow teammates.
When asked about how she felt the game went, she praised her fellow teammates for their execution of man marking.
“We had some man marking we were supposed to do and I thought we did really, really well staying on those players and I just think we worked really well as a team coming back and that was the game plan,” Copeland-Dinan said.
She also gave the young team credit for listening to the direction by the veteran players, attributing the win to their excellent leadership.
The Ravens’ look to continue the success as they face off against the Nipissing Lakers on Sept. 4 on home turf.
