Gee-Gees rookies prove themselves early in the season
The U of O women’s soccer team had a successful weekend at home. After hosting the Laurentian Voyageurs and the Nipissing Lakers at Matt Anthony Field, the team improved their record to 5-0-1, putting themselves at the top of the OUA East.
In Saturday’s game, every Gee-Gee on the roster hit the field in a 3-1 win against the Voyageurs.
Seeing many different players on the field hasn’t been rare for the Gee-Gees this year, as head coach Steve Johnson has been utilizing the entire bench, both the rookies and the veterans, game so far.
The U of O has brought in a strong rookie class, each of them getting opportunities to show what they can do at different positions on the field.
“The more I get to see the first-year players and the more I understand what their strengths and weaknesses are, I’ll do a better job playing them in positions where they’ll benefit the team the most,” Johnson said. “They haven’t let me down in anything I’ve asked of them so far.”
Rookie Kaylane Hogue put the Gees on the scoreboard in the first six minutes of Saturday’s game, her first of the season. With the Laurentian goalkeeper on the ground to stop a shot by Emma Lefebvre, Hogue capitalized on the rebound.
Another first-year Gee-Gee scored her first of the season to put the team up 2-0. Soumaya Bouak kicked it in on a cross pass from Katherine Bearne.
The Ottawa found the back of the net one last time with a deep shot over the goalkeeper by Julia Rosenthal.
Laurentian managed to get one in the net before the end of the game, but the Gee-Gees took the game 3-1.
The Garnet and Grey put on quite the show in Sunday’s matchup against the Lakers, displaying their ability to score in a number of ways.
The Gee-Gees continued their trend of opening up a game with scoring.
Mikayla Morton, Hogue, and Lefebvre all scored within minutes to put the Gees up 3-0.
Before the half ended, Hogue found Morton for a goal.
Both Hogue and Lefebvre mentioned the team’s effort in creating plays, saying many of their goals stemmed from great passes.
“The team did really well, it wasn’t just about my goals,” Hogue said. “I was there at the right moments for great passes from my teammates.’
The Gee-Gees doubled their score in the second half, cleaning up the weekend with an 8-0 win over Nippissing.
Lefebvre contributed two more, earning herself a hat trick.
Bouak and Haley Walsh each scored one.
Post-game, Lefebvre gave some insight on the Gee-Gees success.
“We were practicing how to break their backline and we got in behind very well, the crosses coming in were amazing,” Lefebvre said. “Having this strong rookie class come in has really helped on the field, we have a really great bench and everyone does an amazing job on the field.”
