Queen’s Soccer opens season against Ravens on home turf

The men’s team suffered a tough loss, while the women ended with a tie 

Image supplied by: Supplied by James Paddle Grant
Neither team started with a win.

On Sept. 2, the Queen’s women’s and men’s soccer teams laced up their cleats and faced the Carleton Ravens at Richardson Stadium. 

The women played first and put up a tough fight, but were only able to put one shot in the net, ending the game in a draw. 

A few hours later, the men suffered even worse results after conceding two goals early, letting the Ravens hold the lead for the rest of the game. 

Here’s a breakdown of which Gaels to look out for, and the key plays from this past weekend. 

Men’s Soccer unable to pull ahead

 

The two times these teams met on the pitch during last season, Carleton delivered a clean sweep. The Ravens kept up that pattern last Friday. 

For the first ten minutes, the Gaels were able to hold them off despite struggling to maintain possession. It wasn’t until the ten-minute mark that things started to go downhill. 

Daniel Assaf of the Carleton Ravens started off the scoring streak with a quick goal. Within two minutes, Silvio Simil followed suit and put one in the back of the net as well. 

These two quick points were enough to discourage the Gaels. 

“The way we started both matches was very promising but conceding the first goals and not executing in our final acts donated the win to our opponents. We know what we will do better and will use the next two weeks to work to make it so,” Head Coach Christian Hoefler said in a press release. 

The Ravens kept up their momentum, scoring once more in the first half. Their consistent pace showed the Gaels what it would take to succeed this season.

In the second half, the Gaels decided to face the challenge head on. They continued to get shots on net while Connor Adams protected the net on the other end of the pitch. Finally, one of their many shots landed; Lucas Booth scored their first goal of the regular season.

Friday’s game was a tough loss that showed the reality of competing at this level. 

Women’s Soccer has strong start to the season

The women’s drive, desire for the ball, and ability to play as a team shone through in last Friday’s home game. 

As defending OUA champions, the women took the pitch with tenacity. Right from the start, they stole and maintained possession. They kept the ball in the Ravens’ end for the most part, but ultimately struggled to get the ball within the 18-yard box most of the time.

Cecilia Way started off strong with many shots on net. She was able to move the ball amongst her teammates and facilitate plays that incorporated her teammates’ strengths. 

She looked for ways to capitalize on Jenna Matsukubo’s insane speed and worked on sending through passes to Raya Athwal that could develop into attacking advances. This incredible performance and leadership won Way Queen’s University Athlete of the Week. 

Despite game play dominated by the Gaels, the Ravens scored the first point. 

Elodie Sylvain launched a free kick from just inside the sideline that magically found its way over both the defense and offense, going straight into the back of the net. This was the Ravens’ first shot on net all game. 

What followed was 12 minutes of misery as fans wondered if the usually dominant Gaels would ever land a shot. Finally, Melissa Gravel scored the equalizer, putting a ball in the back of the Raven net around the 78-minute mark. 

Later, Way had an opportunity much like the one Sylvain had, but her free kick hit the inside of the crossbar and bounced out. 

The game ended in a draw as neither team was able to pull ahead. 

Looking ahead, the men will play next on Sept. 18 against the RMC Paladins. The women return to the pitch much sooner on Sept. 9, facing off against the uOttawa Gee Gees. 

Tags

GeeGees, loss, Men’s Soccer, tie, Women's soccer

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