Looking to get back in the win column last Thanksgiving weekend, the Carleton women’s soccer team hosted the Ryerson Rams and University of Toronto Varsity Blues in back-to-back games on Oct. 6-7 at MNP Park.
The team comes off a scoreless tie against the Queen’s University Gaels on Sept. 23 and sits fifth in the OUA East. A win against the Rams would put them three points behind fourth-place Nipissing University Lakers.
The Rams came off a win against the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) on Sept. 30, placing them eighth in the OUA East.
On an overcast Saturday afternoon, the Ravens and Rams handed in their lineup cards and the game got underway.
Both teams spent the first few minutes trading possession time. The Ravens defence was aggressive early, acting as midfielders to create scoring opportunities.
However, the first opportunity came from the Rams with a corner kick by Christiana Daniel that was deemed unsuccessful by a Ravens clear.
Picking up to the 11th minute, the Ravens continued to struggle with possessing the ball by the Ram midfielders. Rams Samantha Naus and Brooke Pearson both worked in tandem to get the ball to various sides of the field for an attack.
The aggressive Rams attracted scoring opportunities as they added to their corner total and possession time.
However, a hard challenge in the 13th minute on Ravens forward Melissa Gilligan gave Carleton a penalty kick.
Ravens midfielder Ghalia Hammada recorded her first point of the season on the penalty kick, giving the Ravens a 1-0 lead into the second half.
In the fifth minute, Ryerson’s Christiana Daniel tied the game up on an overhead kick just outside the penalty box.
Following the goal, Ravens forward Emily Copeland-Dinan said the team had a hard time responding, but did well recovering.
“I think we had a little bit of a tough time responding to that, but I think we did well to come back from it once we got back in the game,”
Play picked up as both teams are searching for the tiebreaker. It would be the Rams that have the first scoring opportunity from a corner kick. Aggressive in her net, Raven goalkeeper Sara Wicks made the save to slow down the Ram offense.
The play picked up as both teams searched for the tiebreaker. It would be the Rams that would get the first scoring opportunity from a corner kick. Aggressive in her net, Ravens goalkeeper Sara Wicks made the save to slow down the Rams offense.
The tiebreaker came in the 15th minute – also on a corner kick – in which Dinan possess and scores near the goalpost.
The Rams turn up the pace with a few odd-man chances which ultimately ended up in the hands of Wicks. She finished the game with six saves.
As the second half comes to an end, the Ravens escape with a 2-1 victory. Head coach Dom Oliveri said that the message of today’s game was to battle.
“We can’t – in this league – come out and give somebody a 45-minute head start. We knew we had to battle, and credit to the players they came back and battled in the second half for sure.”
“Another big game tomorrow – we’re right there. This is a program that is learning how to win games, so we’re happy to get a win here today,” Oliveri adds.
On Sunday, the Ravens wore their black uniforms as they got ready to face on the University of Toronto Varsity Blues.
The Blues came off a 2-0 loss to the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees who sit first in the OUA East standings.
Both teams got off to good starts as communication and ball movement highlight the game.
In the 9th minute, Raven forward Cheyenne Bent carried the ball from center field that resulted in a cross intended for Melissa Gilligan. Blues goalkeeper Vanna Staggolis made the save.
Three minutes later, a free kick from Ravens defender Youma Konate came with traffic in front of the net. Both teams scrambled, but the score remained tied.
Opportunities rang for the Ravens in the 24th minute, when another free-kick was rewarded with an ensuing battle in front of the net.
Both teams fight for possession but Raven forward Tori MacFarlane came up with the ball, crossing it over to goalkeeper Staggolis.
The pressuring Raven offense also gave forward Bent a chance to capitalize and take the lead. The kick sailed wide over the goal – still scoreless.
In the 28th minute, a call by the referee put the Blues five feet from the net. Black jerseys surround the goal line to prevent the score and cleared the ball to center field.
Carleton’s Melissa Gilligan forced a corner, following dekes and quick footwork in the 36th minute.
The Ravens failed to capitalize on a favorable kick, with only two Blues defenders in the box.
Defense and good clearing from both teams take us into halftime, with a scoreless tie.
The second half started with an early scoring chance from forward and captain Emily Copeland-Dinan. Goalkeeper Staggolis interrupted the opportunity.
A pressuring Dinan forced a corner kick in the fourth minute by midfielder Sabrina Hammada. Again, no goal was scored.
Ravens goalkeeper Wicks kept Carleton in the game with some timely saves.
For the minutes that followed, the Ravens and Varsity Blues traded corners, odd-man rushes, and offside calls.
Nearing the end of the game, both teams found the energy to finish off strong and fast.
Teams got physical as the game concludes, sending both coaches in a frenzy on the bench. The players responded with added energy for an interesting game.
Goalkeeper Sara Wicks finished the game with eight saves and applauds the younger players for stepping up.
“I’m impressed with the younger girls stepping up,” she said. “We have 22 girls on the team that are first and second year, that are playing like third, fourth, and fifth years. It’s amazing.”
Coach Oliveri mentioned that although some calls went against them, the team still found a way to battle through the adversity.
“I thought our team did extremely well to battle through the adversity today and tried their best to not let it affect their game.”
“Ultimately, we set out to try and win each game, and we had a lot of chances to do so today. We will take the point as it gets us one step closer to making the playoffs.
The Ravens finished the weekend sitting fifth in the OUA. They look to pick up points against Trent Saturday at MNP Park.
Photos by Graham Swaney
