Two wins up north brought women’s soccer’s record to 7-2-3 heading into the season’s final stretch.
The Gaels shut out the Laurentian Lady Vees (4-6-2) 2-0 on Saturday before moving onto North Bay, where they beat the Nipissing Lakers (3-8-1) 3-1 on Sunday.
The road games were the second half of a tough-scheduled week for the women, who played five games in nine days.
Saturday’s matchup saw a dearth of shots, with each team only registering three on net. Queen’s didn’t hit the net at all in the opening 45 minutes.
Midfielder Jessie de Boer put the Gaels up 1-0 shortly into the second half. She went on to score again in the 73rd minute.
Keeper Madison Tyrell stopped everything sent her way, recording the clean sheet.
The game, which head coach Dave McDowell referred to as “gritty”, was played on a muddy grass field.
“We had to grind out a result,” he said.
Both teams were described as “direct” by McDowell, with Laurentian often kicking the ball forward looking to put pressure on Queen’s defenders.
The Gaels weren’t fazed by inclement weather or poor pitch conditions on Sunday, opening the scoring early.
Striker Breanna Burton got on the board three minutes in, and was followed up eight minutes later by a goal from de Boer. de Boer’s marker gave her seven goals in the Gaels’ last five games.
Nipissing tallied one of their own before striker Rachel Radu netted the final goal in the 42nd minute, ending a busy opening half.
Michaila Frawley replaced Tyrell between the posts for the second half and turned away all three shots sent her way.
The Gaels controlled the ball well in the second half, but didn’t capitalize on scoring opportunities.
“I thought we did a good job with one-way traffic,” McDowell said. “Again, did not finish very well, but eventually put the game away.”
McDowell saw a lack of intensity after the team went up 2-0.
“We took the pedal off the gas a little bit,” he said. “Let them back in the game.”
The women put up 22 shots, a testament to their offensive set-ups.
There are four games, all at home, left before the playoffs begin.
“The key for us is to be playing our best and be at our healthiest when playoff time rolls around,” McDowell said.
This weekend, the Gaels host the Ryerson Rams (3-7-1) and the Toronto Varsity Blues (6-4-1).
McDowell said there were a few things the Gaels need to improve on for this weekend’s matches.
“Right now, we’re trying to prepare ourselves more than anything,” he said. “[Work on] some movement things and some issues in terms of finishing.”
Tags
Gaels, Laurentian, McDowell, Nipissing, Women's soccer
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