The sun shone for the Golden Gaels women’s soccer team this weekend as they enjoyed a 2-0 victory over the Carleton Ravens, while the bad weather came in time for the men’s team to lose to the Ravens 2-0 on Saturday.
In the women’s game, Claire Parsons set the tone by scoring nine minutes in on a lofted left-footed free kick. After that Carleton dominated possession, keeping Queen’s penned into their own half and forcing bad clearances and passes.
Queen’s goalkeeper Katie McKenna was on her game, jumping on every ball that entered the 18-yard box.
McKenna said she felt mentally prepared for the game.
“My goal for this game was to play the most confident I ever had, that was a big part of my mental preparation.” The second half showed another strong start for the Gaels. Renee MacLellan received a picture-perfect pass and ran into the Carleton 18-yard box. She manoeuvred around a Carleton defender and thrashed her effort into the top corner of the net 45 seconds into the half.
The game became a midfield battle, with neither team allowing any chances.
In an unusual twist, Carleton head coach Andy Nera was thrown from the game for constantly berating the referee.
Queen’s head coach Dave McDowell said he didn’t even notice the ejection.
“It was an interesting kink in the game,” he said. “They like to have a loud bench. We like to have a loud bench too, but a different kind of loud bench.” Carleton’s coaching staff refused to comment.
McDowell said the game was a solid effort heading into the playoffs.
“I was pleased with the result. We didn’t give away many good chances” he said. “There were hard tackles and late tackles, our girls played with them and that’s what it’s about.”
The rain and cold arrived in the break between the men’s and women’s games, foreshadowing the men’s 2-0 loss to undefeated Carleton, the OUA’s top-ranked team.
Carleton’s only blemish this year was a Sept. 8 tie with Queen’s in Ottawa.
A defensive lapse allowed the first goal of the game for Carleton striker Abdullah Abunafeesa. Queen’s pushed hard for the rest of the half, forcing Carleton back into their zone.
Abunafeesa’s second goal of the match came off a corner in the 50th minute.
The game finished as a midfield battle with late tackles from both sides.
Queen’s assistant coach Ron Heidebrecht said his team missed some key opportunities.
“Carleton’s a physical team, and our goal coming into the game was to play as physical as them,” he said. “But we have to put the ball in the net. … each game you’ll only get one or two chances to score. We got three but we didn’t
finish them.”
Queen’s finishes the regular season with a record of 6-4-4 and will host the Ryerson Rams in the OUA quarter-finals next weekend.
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