The Carleton Ravens women’s soccer team won one and lost one this past weekend, following a tough 1-0 loss to the Laurentian Voyageurs Sept. 8 with a 5-0 trouncing of the Nipissing Lakers the following day.
The victory extended the Ravens’ record to 2-1-1 on the season.
The defeat at the hands of the Voyageurs was the first loss of the season for the Ravens. It came as a tough one on a rain-soaked pitch and by only one goal.
However, less than 24 hours later, the Ravens were able to regroup and win handily over the Lakers.
The Ravens came flying out of the gate and their relentless pressure on offence paid off in the 15th minute with a goal by veteran midfielder Nicole Filipow.
“It was a nice flick on by [Adrianna] Ruggiero and then a breakaway to the goal, and the next thing I knew it was in the net,” Filipow said.
After Filipow’s goal, the floodgates opened for the Ravens. They took a 2-0 lead just before halftime and added three more goals in the second half. Goalkeepers Rachel Bedek and Anna Morsky shared time in goal for the shutout victory.
In terms of dealing with their first loss of the season, the women said they have ways of dealing with it.
“You just can’t think about the game before,” Filipow said. “It’s in the past. What happens, happens. It’s unfortunate, but you just can’t think too much about it.”
Following the loss, head coach Alex McNutt said the team didn’t really stick to the game plan in terms of attacking against Laurentian, but were much better against Nipissing.
According to McNutt, there is a lot more there and that moving forward the team needs to work on finishing and playing a possession game, as well as putting more passes together.
McNutt said the team passed the ball better against Nipissing and created more chances, but could have scored a lot more goals.
Next up for the Carleton Ravens is its arch-rival, the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees, Sept. 15 at Ravens Field.
The Ravens currently sit at No. 3 in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East division with seven points, while Ottawa is at the top of the table with 13.
Needless to say, the women’s team is excited at having a shot at their nemesis.
“The intensity throughout the week is going to be a lot higher,” Filipow said.
“We’re all pumped up, probably will be a lot more prepared against them because of the rivalry, and it should hopefully be a good game. We hope for a really good result.”
