Women’s soccer team wins back-to-back matches
THE GEE-GEES WOMEN’S soccer team routed the competition in a pair of important games on Sept. 24 and 25 when they played against two northern Ontario University Athletic (OUA) opponents. With their recent victories over the Laurentian Lady Vees (4-3-2) and the Nipissing Lakers (0-6-3), the Gees move into second place in the OUA with a record of 6-2-1.
Ottawa’s first of the two wins was over the Lady Vees, a team they lost to by a penalty shot just last week. Redemption was earned on Sept. 24, as second-year striker Elisabeth Wong opened up the scoring for the Gees on a corner kick in the 25th minute of play. The Lady Vees would challenge the Ottawa team for the lead, but never overtake them, as the game ended in a 3–1 win for the Garnet and Grey.
“I was pleased. It was a good performance for us,” said head coach Steve Johnson. “We spent all week working on our finishing habits and I think we saw the results of them in all three goals we had today.”
The Gees then took to the field again on Sept. 25 to face off against the Lakers. Wong scored yet again for the Gees, beating the Laker’s goalie in the 14th and 27th minutes of play. Ottawa managed to limit the opposition to just one shot on net during the first half and entered the break with a 2-0 lead.
A slight change in the lineup for the second half saw the Gee-Gees’ offence explode for six goals, including back-to-back scores in the 79th minute by fourth-year midfielder Tara Condos and third-year midfielder Alexandra Jotham. In the midst of the Gees’ show of offensive power, their defence held strong, rarely allowing the ball over midfield and contributing to Ottawa’s 8-0 victory.
“Eight goals in a game—we haven’t done that in a while. Players are starting to do the things we’ve been working on in practices and you can see them coming out into the games. We got one goal yesterday and one goal today just from players remembering their responsibilities,” Johnson explained, noting his team’s discipline over the weekend.
Wong, who was named player of the game against Nipissing for her two goals, noted another aspect of the team’s play that was well executed.
“I think we did really well on our corners,” said Wong. “Usually we have a hard time finding our players, but today we did really well and scored off of one—yesterday too, so it’s a big positive.”
With the Gees’ most recent victories, they sit in a comfortable spot entering the second half of the season. They have only Queens to overtake for first place in the OUA with seven games remaining in the regular season.
The Gees next game will be played on Oct. 1, hosted by the Trent Excaliburs.
—Keeton Wilcock
