By Nashra Syed
The TMU Bold women’s soccer team fought hard for a 2-0 win in the first game of their double-header weekend against the Royal Military College (RMC) Paladins at Downsview Park on Oct. 1.
After a week-long break following their rescheduled match against the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks, the Bold were able to secure the win in a tough 90-minute match.
“To be completely honest with you, I felt that this game was going to end 0-0,” said head coach John Yacou. “Our energy was very poor. [The team] didn’t come out with the same intensity as we did the last few games and left it late to get the result.”
The crowd went wild after back-to-back goals in the 89th minute by defenders Ava Berry and Samantha Naus were enough to secure the win for the Bold.
“I was scared to be honest,” said Berry. “I’d just come on and I knew I wanted to do something with the ball but I didn’t think I was going to score coming in as a centre back. The opportunity was there and I’m happy I was able to get it going for us.”
The first half got off to a slow start with neither team able to put a goal on the board.
Two attempts on goal from third-year Skylar Sheehan-Alleyene and second-year Journey Lashley were stopped by the RMC Breanna Habinski.
A free kick awarded to RMC quickly turned into an unsuccessful goal attempt, with the ball flying way out past the net.
With the first half coming to a close, the team wasn’t able to put up a goal against the bottom ranked Paladins.
Naus opened the second half with a powerful kick that went off the goalkeeper’s fingers and top of the post. It was the closest the Bold had been to a goal all game.
Another near attempt made by Lashley was deflected by the Paladins goalkeeper but there wasn’t a Bold player in sight to make that rebound goal.
Despite their missed attempts, the Bold were able to keep it tight and maintain possession of the ball for the majority of the second half.
A collision between Paladins goalkeeper and first-year Enoyaa Acheampong resulted in Acheampong going down. The crowd was heard screaming for a foul or penalty, but to their dismay, none was granted.
With 15 minutes left in the game, TMU star Ivymae Perez looked like she scored the side’s first goal, but the play was blown down for an offside.
A stellar save by RMC’s goalkeeper stopped yet another attempt from the Bold. TMU’s offense may have been strong, but the Paladins’ goalkeeper was quick in making saves.
“Credit to RMC, they stayed in the game, they fought well,” said Yacou. “It was unfortunate for them to leave here with no points because I felt they deserved at least a point here.”
Naus added that the squad got the win on Saturday, but they’ll need to be ready for the quick turnaround with another match on Sunday.
“We got the result today but we were hoping for a differential,” said Naus. “We’ll take the win and look out for UOIT [Ontario Tech] tomorrow.”
UP NEXT: The team will play the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks tomorrow in their rescheduled game from the past weekend. Kick-off is set for 1 p.m.
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