Johnson’s troops score six in two shutout wins
“Dominant” was how Gee-Gees head coach Steve Johnson described his team’s performance following their 4-0 win in women’s soccer action on Oct. 7 against the Ryerson Rams.
After allowing only two shots on goal in two weekend matches, Johnson isn’t lying.
Against the University of Toronto on Oct. 6, the Gee-Gees drew first blood early.
Thea Abdul Nour scored at the seventh minute to put the Garnet and Grey on top 1-0. The Gees would keep that lead going into the half.
In the second half, U of O forward Mikayla Morton would score her seventh goal of the season at the 68-minute on a nice pass from Emma Lefebvre. The Gees would then play more defensively, and sail to a 2-0 win.
In the victory, the Gee-Gees tested U of T keeper Vanna Staggolis 10 times, while allowing only one shot on goal defensively.
The Oct. 7 match was even bigger, facing the Rams at Gee-Gees Field on a cold day with a deep overcast.
This seemed a bit of a challenge, as the home team struggled to get some offence together in the first half.
Finally, at the 34-minute mark, the Gees capitalized, with Morton once again opening the scoring on a pass from Lefebvre, almost identical to the one scored the previous day.
The Garnet and Grey would add another goal before the half, as Lefebvre capitalized on a breakout pass from forward Delaney Rickert-Hall. The Gees would head into the half leading the Rams 2-0.
Coming back from halftime, the Gees were relentless, playing almost the whole half in the offensive zone.
At the 75-minute mark, midfielder Katherine Bearne would score her fourth goal on the season off a two-on-one situation.
Morton would add another goal after a shot from midfielder Julia Rosenthal was blocked by a Ryerson player, ending up right at her feet.
The Gee-Gees would hold on to the 4-0 win.
“I was really happy with our team’s performance, we got a lot of players involved who wouldn’t normally see that much playing time,” Bearne said following the win versus Ryerson. “We also had great chemistry out there, and overall it was a good effort.”
Johnson also mentioned how those two matches were “team wins.”
“I think everybody contributed, we played very well defensively. I think we allowed like six shot attempts the whole weekend,” Johnson said. “Everybody contributed. I tried to get every one of my players some playing time today, and they all responded very well on the field, which is very good for us going forward.”
With the wins, the U of O retains its top spot in the OUA Eastern conference, five points ahead of the second-place Queen’s Gaels.
The Gee-Gees will be back in action next weekend as they face the two teams from the Durham region back-to-back at home.
On Oct. 13 and Oct. 14 at 1 p.m. the Gees will take on the OUIT Ridgebacks and the Trent University Excalibur, respectively. The game versus the Ridgebacks will be at Matt Anthony Field, and you can catch the game against the Excalibur at Gee-Gees field. Grab tickets to these matches here.
