Strong performances on home turf

WLU women’s soccer beat the McMaster Marauders 5-0 on Saturday, but were unable to surge past the York Lions the next day with the game ending in a 0-0 draw, moving them to a 7-1-1 record.


Photo by Kha Vo
Photo by Kha Vo

Last weekend, the Wilfrid Laurier University women’s soccer team faced their biggest challenge of the season.

Squaring off against the York Lions on Sept. 21, the Hawks played a very tight defensive game versus the number one team in Ontario University Athletics.

In what was anticipated to be a strong match between two high calibre teams, both teams were unable to score a goal, leaving the score at a 0-0 draw.

They played the McMaster Marauders the day before and won the game 5-0.

After playing five games in a short span of nine days, the Hawks knew they had to give it their all if they wanted to come out with a win.

The Hawks rose to the challenge and gave York a game that will clearly be remembered in the minds of the coaches, players and spectators.

The game was filled with strong goaltending, passing and many scoring opportunities. Although both teams put a strong effort, the game remained scoreless.

“It was a very good tactical game,” said head coach Barry McLean said after the game, regarding the play of both teams.

The Hawks proved that playing against top teams in the OUA division makes it difficult to create scoring opportunities.

Some of the game’s best chances came from passes towards the net by midfielders Jessica Craig and Maxine Murchie, where forwards Emily Brown and Nicole Lyons were waiting to try and finish it.

One of the biggest chances the Hawks had was a header by Brown that just went wide over the net.

“In a game like this you need to be able to create those chances and finish them,” McLean said.
McLean thought that although the Hawks created enough chances to score goals, the Lions defended well and denied all opportunities, which was an area of strength for both teams.

Goalkeeper Maggie Carmichael made a total of eight saves during the game, in what was her busiest game this season. She said she was pleased with the effort the team put forth in front of her goal.

“We worked together as a team really well, and everyone played their part that they needed to play which led to a really good performance from us,” she said.

“It’s really important that we work together.”

The Hawks are set for a rematch against the York Lions on Sept. 28. They are determined to turn that tally into a win the next time they play. Carmichael touched on what the team is going to have to do in order to make that happen.

“We’re going to put in a good week of technical work and tactical work and hopefully come up with some new plans and get more scoring opportunities and hopefully put it all together for a win,” Carmichael said.

“We just got to be patient,” McLean said. “We just got to keep playing our game. “

The game starts at 1 p.m. at York Stadium.

Leave a Reply