By Jonathan Reynoso and Victoria Cha

The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women’s soccer team were unable to conclude their home opening match at Downsview Park with a win, falling 2-1 to the Carleton Ravens on Aug. 30. 

The Bold return to their home field after the offseason with a much younger team than last year. Though Bold head coach John Yacou notes that “it’s positive that a lot of the [team] are stepping up,” TMU could not find their groove in time to defend their turf.

“We’re not really a vocal team and our fight wasn’t really there in the second half, so that’s something that we need to improve on moving forward,” said Yacou. 

Scoring was kicked off in the 11th minute of the match by TMU’s own second-year midfielder Natalie Moynihan with an absolutely beautiful goal off a set piece, earned after an illegal challenge by a Ravens defender.

This was the first and only offensive advantage the Bold were able to find, as the Ravens began to find their footing and gain momentum. 

Carleton responded quickly with forward Ava Mills finding the net through third-year goalie Elisa Paolucci in the 18th minute.

Paolucci’s defensive efforts continued with a beautiful diving save on the line, off a Ravens scoring chance, where Carleton was picking TMU’s penalty box attempting to score.

More than making saves, Paolucci played an integral role from between the goal posts. Throughout the entirety of the match. Paolucci could be heard guiding her fellow teammates, with messages like “be aggressive,” “stay connected” and “let’s go white”—white being the colour of her team’s jerseys. 

“She’s a great leader besides being a great goalkeeper, so it really helps our backline given that we have two, three of the players…that are new to the back line, so it really helps calm [them],” said Yacou on Paolucci’s leadership. 

Coming out of halftime, the field saw more of the same for TMU, with Carleton’s continuous physicality and ball pressure locking the match at 1-1.

In the 72nd minute, Ravens forward Mikayla Moser found her way in front of the Bold’s box, shooting the ball past Paolucci, bringing Carleton to a 2-1 lead over TMU.

TMU‘s late half pressure was not enough to bring an equalizer to the match, which ultimately ended in favour of Carleton. 

Though the Bold came up short in their performance, Moynihan believes there is “promise for the future.”

“We had a really strong preseason in that we prepared very, very well…I’m not nervous for my teammates, I’m not nervous for myself,” said Moynihan.

UP NEXT: The Bold head to Justin Chiu Stadium in Peterborough, Ont. in their match against the Trent Excalibur on Aug. 31. Kick-off is set for 1 p.m.