It might not show on the goal sheet, but the Gaels went into last weekend firing on all cylinders.
On Sept. 28, the Queen’s women’s soccer team faced off against the Trent Excalibur’s in Oshawa, ON. The Gaels took home a 1-0 win, but not before launching a whopping 14 shots against Trent’s two.
The game’s first 15 minutes were quiet, featuring a shot on goal from Victoria Hawkins, Kin ’29, just over two minutes in. In the eighteenth minute, though, Seema Sakran, Kin ’26 had her first shot on goal scooped up by Trent goalkeeper Kymora Chung. Within twenty minutes, Sakran added two more chances as she drove down the Gaels’ left side but was stopped in each attempt by Chung.
In the 42nd minute, a strong corner kick from Tatiana Kayrouz, Comm ’27, connected with a header from Kendra Couto, Sci ’26, but the chance was once again caught by the Trent goalkeeper. In the ensuing Trent attack, a long shot from Excalibur’s Melanie Oleschuk was caught easily by Queen’s goalkeeper Echo Bourbonnais. Despite going scoreless into the second half, the Gaels were clearly driving play, creating solid chances and smothering every possession from Trent.
The second half started mostly the same for the Gaels, who dominated possession but only had a wide chance from Sakran to show after 15 minutes.
Though things cracked open for the Gaels in the 60th minute. Sakran facilitated a long shot for Lily Goss, Kin ’26, whose chance forced the Trent goalkeeper Chung to dive and make the save. On the following corner kick, Chung made another save on a dangerous chance for Mattson Stricker, ConEd ’26, followed by another stop on a header from Stricker a few plays later.
There was no mercy from the Gaels from then onward, with consistent chances created in part by stellar runs from Sakran, giving Stricker, Goss and Brinley Bjornson, ArtSci ’28, dangerous chances on goal.
Finally, in the 74th minute, Bjornson broke through, taking advantage of a cross from Kayrouz to give the Gaels the 1-0 lead.
Queen’s continued to push play for the remaining sixteen minutes, but the result was clear. In the end, the Gaels took a decisive win, despite a stellar performance by the Trent goalkeeper.
The Gaels exit the weekend ranked 10th in U Sports thanks to their 6-1-1 record this season. Next, they’ll host back-to-back home games, rematching the Nipissing University Lakers on Oct. 4 and facing the third-ranked University of Ottawa GeeGees on Oct. 5.
Tags
Excalibur, Gaels, soccer, Trent
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