Sports – Women’s Soccer

The Gaels’ women’s soccer team was the lone Queen’s varsity team left in any of the OUA playoffs. I wanted to cover the gold medal game but had been assigned to shoot the Liberal Party nominations at the K-Rock Centre. I still wanted to catch any part of the game if I could: this was a gold medal game and the stakes were high. High stakes typically means high emotions, which increases the chances for interesting photos.

By the time I arrived at Richardson Stadium, there were only a few minutes left in regulation time and the Gaels were now down a point. I snapped off a few frames, and the referee’s whistle marked the end of the game.

With a 1-0 final score and such evenly matched teams, the match’s story might have been less about the action on the field than what happened after the game.

Here’s my take on winning and losing at the OUA’s.

Soccer 1

Queen’s defender Mikyla Kay regroups with her teammates as the Laurier Golden Hawks celebrate their OUA Championship win. I like the black and white version better than the colour. I feel that it adds a little more grittiness to the image.

Soccer 2

Midfielder Melissa Jung walks off the field following the Gaels’ 0-1 loss to the Laurier Golden Hawks. I covered a few games this year; Jung was a key player and always played with gut and passion. It was no surprise to me that she was emotional about the game’s outcome.

Soccer 3

The Laurier Golden Hawks celebrate following their 1-0 win against the Queen’s Gaels. Laurier was able to score in the 78th minute; the lone goal would be enough to carry the Golden Hawks to an OUA Championship.

Soccer 4

The Golden Hawks reach for the OUA Championship trophy as the sun sets at Richardson Stadium on November 7, 2010. As the top two teams in the OUA, the Golden Hawks and Gaels qualified to compete at the CIS National Championships in Prince Edward Island and would resume their fierce rivalry the following weekend.

Soccer 5

Queen’s striker Jacqueline Tessier returns to the dressing room alone at Richardson Stadium following the OUA medals and awards ceremony. Tessier, who led the country in number of goals scored, was awarded Most Valuable Player for the OUA East region for her efforts.

The number one ranked Gaels demonstrated their prowess the following weekend at Nationals, eventually defeating the Laurier Golden Hawks with an ironic 1-0 victory in overtime to take the CIS National Championships. Jubilation and devastation. Flipsides. That’s what sports is all about.

I’m only disappointed that I wasn’t able to shoot the CIS game. There would have been some very different expressions on those faces.

More tk…

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