“I’m very proud of me, proud of the team and proud of tonight”
On Friday at Ottawa’s Matt Anthony Field, the Gee-Gees played their last season home game and took another winning shot against Nipissing. Their previous face-off was just over two weeks ago, a matchwhich showcased “top class soccer from both teams” and finished with the U of O coming up on top 2-1.
On take two of this rivalry, we were shown, as expected, a tremendous round of fantastic soccer, with the Gee-Gees prioritizing their offence and setting the final score to 5-0. However, as an audience, we got a special surprise when Cassandra Provost tied Pilar Khoury’s program record with her 58th career goal in garnet and grey.
The first half of the game did not disappoint, both Gee-Gees and Nipissing fought physically and mentally for possession of the ball. Allana Oriente and Jenna Matsukubo went toe-to-toe with Nipissing’s defenders and got not only a chance to really put to the test their speed, but also their dribbling skills.
Halftime finished with the scoreboard on Ottawa’s side 3-0, and it was not due to a lack of trying by Nipissing, but rather the incredible wall of a defence U of O has. The defence was bolstered by a stellar performance by defender Tessa Frangione; credit should be given where credit is due. Frangione supported immensely defensively and was a primary reason for the margin of difference between both teams’ scores.
The Gee-Gees proved to play just as remarkable as always. Even with pressure right on their back, with Nipissing not letting them take a breath, Ottawa had to rely on their cohesive style of play. Their long passes and the Gee-Gees’ horsepower made them perform outstandingly.
The second half of the game started with the Lakers being more determined than ever, trying to secure every ball and send precise passes. However, the Gee-Gees made Nipissing look like any other team in the season and scored two more goals in the second 45 minutes of the game.
This included a remarkable header from Cassandra Provost in the 63rd minute — her third of the match — which tied Khoury’s program record of 58 that has stood since 2016. Provost remarked on the happy event after the game, saying, “I’m very proud of me, proud of the team and proud of tonight.”
Gee-Gees head coach Steve Johnson — who has coached both Khoury and Provost — commented on the fourth-year following in Khoury’s footsteps.
“Pilar’s quality is obvious — she is amazing … [Provost] has been amazing for us, … three goals today against a top team in the country, a very difficult opponent means we get the opportunity to finish top two if we can continue our performance through the rest of the year.”
Fortunately for Provost, she has the opportunity to break the record this season and finish off the year with a championship win. Though she failed to score on Sunday at Ontario Tech, the team will be on the road against Carleton, RMC, and Queen’s to finish the season. Watch the games live on OUA.TV.
