By Francesco Cautillo

The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women’s soccer team held their nerve in a 1-0 win against the Trent University Excalibur at Downsview Park on Saturday.

The Bold came into this game with a .500 win percentage after one win, one loss and two ties, entering game five of the regular season. They looked to improve that statistic at home before making the long trip to the University of Ottawa next week.

TMU established themselves quickly at the start of the game, collecting many free kicks and chances deep in the Trent zone. This would promptly pay off as third-year midfielder Natalie Moynihan would loft a free kick shot over the Excalibur wall and bounce into the bottom right corner. 

After only thirteen minutes of play, the Bold took a 1-0 lead, keeping the pressure on in hopes of extending the lead and maintaining the momentum. Trent tried to counter these dangerous set-pieces with an offside trap and force stoppages from the ref, testing the awareness of the TMU players.

Moynihan nearly grabbed a second free-kick goal, this time hitting the crossbar from nearly 30 feet out. However, the high pressure wasn’t enough to grab a second goal, and TMU headed into the break with a confident one-goal lead.

Although TMU returned from the break alert on their offence, they struggled to settle their defence after second-year striker Taylor Fazzari was sent off with a red card.

With 30 minutes remaining and one player down, the Bold kept the pressure on, hoping to find a second goal and switch to full-on defence. Trent took notice and matched the intensity, opening up their passing lanes for quicker possession and build-up.

The scoreboard showed 80 minutes, and the game was still end-to-end, with the Bold taking the majority of the attacking prowess. Frustrated and cornered, the Excalibur were unable to find a solution to their lack of offence against an outnumbered TMU side.

Stoppage time came to a close as TMU were able to fend off any late pushes from their opponents, capturing their second victory of the season in a hard-fought 1-0 win.

UP NEXT: The Bold head to Ottawa, Ont., to take on the University of Ottawa Gee Gees at Matt Anthony Field. Kick-off is set for 1 p.m.