Queen’s lost their final two games of the season this past weekend at the U SPORTS National Championship.
The Gaels opened their championship campaign against the fourth-seeded Canada West champions Trinity Western University (TWU) Spartans on Nov. 9.
In the first half, Queen’s fought off an early barrage of attacks from TWU. The Gaels found momentum of their own, trading shot for shot with the Spartans. Despite a total of 11 shots, seven from the Queen’s side, neither team was able to find the back of the net in the first half.
The deadlock was broken in the second half after U SPORTS All-Star Rookie Vita Naihin made a run down the left side, crossing the ball into the box to U SPORTS All-Canadian Kendra Couto, Sci ’26, who headed it home to give the Gaels squad a 1-0 lead in minute 53.
The Spartans found their own magic in minute 80 when a Sophie Crowther free kick found the back of the net, levelling the score at 1-1 at the end of regulation playtime.
With the clock winding down, a controversial handball call in the box went against the Gaels and gave TWU an opportunity with the penalty. The shot was converted by TWU’s Olivia Kranjcec and was all the Spartans needed as they carried the lead to minute 120. The final score was 2-1 for TWU.
The next day, Women’s Soccer looked to bounce back with a win against their OUA rivals, the Western Mustangs, in the consolation semi-final.
Like their game against TWU, the Gaels were faced with an early barrage of attacks from the Mustangs. The Gaels couldn’t hold the line and conceded three goals to the Mustangs within the first 30 minutes.
Queen’s never found their footing in the match, being outshot 15-6, and letting two more Mustangs goals in the second half. The score was now 5-0.
Incredible individual efforts from first-year Leda Naihin and second-year Morgan Fenton in minutes 42 and 79 respectively put the Gaels on the board but wasn’t enough to level the score. Western won the game 5-2.
The loss to the Western Mustangs in the consolation semi-final marked a bitter end to an excellent season from Queen’s Women’s Soccer.
Despite the unfortunate end to the season, a successful campaign in the OUA playoffs that brought home silver and an incredible conference record of 10-1-1 brings Women’s Soccer a lot to look forward to next year.
Tags
Championship, richardson stadium, U Sports, Women's soccer
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