Gees simply weren’t hungry enough to gobble turkey’s second leg on Monday
The University of Ottawa’s women’s soccer team could not complete the two-game sweep of their crosstown rivals on Monday, winning the home leg of the turkey series 3-0 on Saturday but then tying the second leg 1-1 at Raven’s Field.
Hosting the first leg of what the Fulcrum has decided to deem the Turkey Series on Saturday at Matt Anthony Field, the Gees came into the matchup with a perfect 3-0 record, outsourcing their opponents 14 to 1 in their first three matches. The Gee-Gees were the undisputed favourites in this matchup.
After all, the visiting Ravens had only won a single game in their first four matchups, beating the RMC Paladins 9-0 at Raven’s Field on Oct. 3. They had a record of 1-1-2, dropping two games to Queen’s to open the season, and sat in the bottom half of the Ontario University Athletics’ Eastern Division standings. The Gees were tied for first with the other undefeated team, the Queen’s University Golden Gaels.
It was then no surprise when the Gees drew first blood in front of their home crowd on Saturday afternoon. Who scored the goal may have been a surprise though, as freshman midfielder Sadie Sider-Echenberg was the Gee to find the back of the net at the 21st minute — her first-ever goal in Garnet and Grey.
1-0 Ottawa.
Later in the half, U of O forward Cassandra Provost was tripped by a Carleton defender, setting up a penalty for the Gees. Fifth-year player Emma Lefebvre was chosen by head coach Steve Johnson to take the penalty — she didn’t disappoint — beating the Ravens keeper with a low shot to the left.
2-0 Ottawa, after a dominant half which saw the team in garnet shoot 12 times towards the Carleton net.
In the second half, the Gees would add to their dominant performance, once again controlling play with another twelve shots. In the 81st minute, it would be Provost’s turn to score, redirecting Adriane Devlin’s free-kick with her head into Carleton’s net. Her third netter of the season.
The Gees would hold on to take the first leg of the Turkey Series 3-0.
In spite of this, for the Gees, losing or tying a game to a weaker opponent such as Carleton is unacceptable, as it can hurt them in the long run when it comes to tie-breakers and national rankings. For Johnson’s team, it was important to sweep the series and not underestimate the Ravens on Monday.
Wearing their away whites, the Gees hit the pitch at Raven’s Field on Monday with seemingly less poise than Saturday. They still managed to control play for long periods of time, but struggled to find the back of the net.
In fact, the Ravens were the first ones to score, with first-year forward Lauren Illman burying the rebound of a free kick, giving Carleton the lead at the 78th minute of play.
But the Carleton lead would be short-lived as nine minutes later, Angelina Gendreau redirected with her knee a cross seem set up from Emma Lefebvre to tie things up at one.
Sadly for the Gee-Gees, that’s all they would get on the afternoon in terms of scoring, settling for a 1-1 draw with the Ravens.
This means the Gee-Gees are no longer tied for first in the OUA’s East division, as the Queen’s Gaels have a 5-0 record and sit two points ahead of the Gees with the same number of games played.
The U of O will have a very short layoff, as their next game is Friday against the Paladins at Matt Anthony Field at 7 p.m.
