By Koylan Azofeifa
It was a game to forget for the Rams women’s soccer team, who was handed a 4-0 loss by the Nipissing Lakers on Sunday, Oct. 10 in a home game at Downsview Park.
The Rams had looked to rebound from their 1-0 loss to the Lakers on Oct. 8 in Nipissing, but were once again unable to find a goal or a win.
Rams head coach Natalie Bukovec said the Lakers’ athleticism played a major factor in the match. She also alluded to the fact that the quick turnaround time from the team’s road game Friday night in Nipissing to the match Sunday afternoon didn’t do them any favours.
“We had kind of a weird day where you checked out at the hotel at [1 a.m.] and we’re kind of just killing three, four hours and we didn’t get back till about 4 a.m.,” said Bukovec.
The scoring in Sunday’s game started in the seventh minute of the match when Nipissing’s Jessica Emmerton scored a goal.
Despite the early tally from the Lakers, the Rams were able to hold their opponents to one goal in the first half. However, after the break Nipissing would blow the game wide open, scoring three unanswered goals to seal the contest.
Throughout the match the Rams struggled to take control of the ball, allowing the Lakers to capitalize on their mistakes.
“The biggest thing for me…was just seeing how we just weren’t motivated to compete, to be honest, we lost the first ball, second ball [and] third ball,” said Bukovec
Up next for the Rams is a quick road trip to Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., where the team will take on the Algoma Thunderbirds. Algoma is currently winless this season, but Bukovec and the Rams aren’t getting ahead of themselves.
“I’m not taking any program lightly, to be honest. I know their history, they’re not a program that’s had a lot of success but I mean based on today’s performance we can’t take anything lightly,” said Bukovec.
After falling to 1-3 on the year, the Rams women’s soccer team only has two home games left in the regular season. They’ll have to gut it out away from the confines of Downsview Park in order to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Up Next: The Rams women’s soccer team faces the Algoma Thunderbirds in back-to-back meetings on Oct. 16 and Oct. 17 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. Kickoff for both matches is set for 12 p.m.
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