By Gabriel Rodrigues
This weekend, the Laurentian women’s soccer team lost both games against the Ottawa Gee-Gees and Carleton Ravens, pushing their record to 2-3-1 on the season.
On Sept. 13, the Voyageurs were defeated by the first place Ottawa Gee-Gees, with a final score of 5-1.
In the first half, the Gee-Gees came out strong with an early goal by Julia Francki within five minutes of the contest.
The Voyageurs began to settle down and with the help from forward Megan Ferguson, Laurentian started to generate some offense.
At the 18th minute of play, the Voyageurs were rewarded off a corner kick when Vanessa Cesario capitalized on a back post finish to tie the game up 1-1.
Towards the end of the half, the Gee-Gees continued to provide pressure on the Voyageurs backline by releasing forward Pilar Khoury, who proved to be a problem for Laurentian throughout the game.
The Voyageurs would survive a scare with five minutes left when Gee-Gees defender Marls Barnabe rattled the crossbar from a 30 yard free-kick, however, the score stayed level going into halftime.
In the second, Ottawa started the half with an early goal generated from a corner kick, as Khoury headed home her fifth goal of the season, giving the Gee-Gees a 2-1 lead.
The Voyageurs wouldn’t led up, as captain, Julie Lopez, tried her luck from 25 yards out, but Ottawa goaltender, Cynthia Leblanc, was equal to the task and made an acrobatic fingertip save.
Within two minutes of Lopez’s chance, Ottawa countered up the field and finished with a goal from Faythe Lou at the 58th minute.
The Gee-Gees proved to be no match for the Voyageurs, as Ottawa continued their on slot of goals, as midfielder Francki added her second of the game at the 65th minute and Delaney Rickert-Hall tallied her fourth goal of the season with ten minutes left in the game.
Laurentian coach Rob Gallo believes his team were beaten by a better opponent in the Gee-Gees.
“We are a little slow in playing,” he said. “They (Ottawa) played fast, moved the ball around us and picked us apart in all parts of the field. We were getting away from our comfort zone and forced into situations we aren’t good at, which showed (today).”
Then on Sept. 14, the Voyageurs played host and lost 2-0 to the Carleton Ravens, leaving Laurentian winless at home so far this season.
In the first half, both teams came out strong defensively, as much of the game stayed within the middle of the pitch.
However with a couple of bursts of speed from Laurentian forward Ferguson, the Voyageurs looked like the first to score, but Ravens goalie, Rada Mitchev, was there to make timely saves keeping Carleton in it early.
In the 27th minute, the Ravens began to press and after a shot taking by midfielder Nicole Filipow, Carleton took the lead 1-0, as Laurentian goaltender, Richele Greenwood, misjudged the deflected effort.
Carleton wouldn’t stop there, as they continued to hold the ball and generate chances on the Voyageurs net, and with less than five minutes left in the half, the Ravens capitalized with goal from Veronica Mazzella.
In the second, the Ravens defended their 2-0 lead throughout the rest of the game, as the Voyageurs had trouble to generate any chances offensively.
Gallo said the feeling of losing two straight home games “is bloody embarrassing.”
“We are disappointed,” he said. “Losing at home is not good, but we are still trying to find our identity and the right mix players to play as a team. We aren’t physical enough, so moving forward, we are going to go back to some basics, which is working hard, getting down to a two-touch game and trying to win 50/50 challenges.”
Next up for the Voyageurs is OUIT (4-0-1) on Saturday, Sept. 20 and Trent (1-3-1) on Sunday, Sept. 21 with both games beginning at noon at the LU soccer fields.
