The thanksgiving weekend started off in a frustrating fashion for Laurier’s women’s soccer team. The Golden Hawks took on the Windsor Lancers with the result being a 0-0 draw.
The Hawks came out sluggish in the first half but dominated the second, controlling the majority of the ball and ending the game with a whopping 17 shots on target. Coming off a strong win against Western last week the draw against Windsor can be viewed as disappointing. Head coach Barry MacLean wasn’t pleased with his team’s first half.
“We played poorly in the first half with not a lot of energy,” he said. “[But] we dominated in the second half.”
Defender Nicole Currie who controlled the flow of the game from the right wing felt that the team “just needs to find the back of the net.”
Tania Pedron, who had a strong game in midfield by creating multiple chances for her strikers, was also frustrated at the result.
“It was a very disappointing draw because we were the better team, but we just need to finish,” she said.
Though the draw can be viewed as disappointing, a lot of positives came out of the game. Laurier’s record moves to an Ontario University Athletics (OUA) west division leading 9-1-2 and their display in the second half shows the strength of the number-four nationally ranked Golden Hawks.
MacLean, who saw the result as disappointing but did not see the need for any changes, felt that there were “no real hiccups” and noted that because of Laurier’s domination with the ball, “teams have begun to defend deeper against us.”
Looking forward, MacLean feels that preparation for the playoffs is essential and with teams playing stronger defense against Laurier it is vital that “we finish on our chances.”
Yesterday, the Hawks went on the road to play the Guelph Gryphons and came away with a 2-0 win.
The purple and gold now close out the season with games against McMaster and University of Waterloo, both teams that they have beaten easily this year.
With the playoffs coming up it seems that Laurier has established a well-deserved reputation for dominating the pace of the game; the solution now is to convert that possession into another OUA title.
“This year is our year,” said an optimistic Pedron. “We do have the team we just need to finish.”
