By Tristan Forde
Led by a hat trick from third-year forward Aalayah Lully, the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women’s soccer team dominated the Laurentian Voyageurs in a 3-0 sweep at Downsview Park on Saturday afternoon.
The victory secured the team their first-ever playoff game at Downsview Park in round one of the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) playoffs.
“It’s a massive win for us because we get to host a playoff, which is very important. So credit to the ladies for stepping up,” said interim head coach John Yacou.
The Bold also celebrated their graduating seniors before the game. The graduating athletes this year are third-year midfielder Jordan Auger, fourth-year defender Tierra Bennett, fourth-year midfielder Emily Di Natale, third-year forward Julia Fasan, fourth-year goalkeeper Abby Harrison, fourth-year defender Amy MacLellan, fourth-year defender Emily Porteous and third-year Taliyah Walker.
All of the seniors except Walker—who is battling an injury—played in the game.
“They have been so committed to the program so the least we could do is give them the win on the way out,” said Yacou, adding it was important to put up a strong performance on Senior Day.
Bold started with high energy and loud voices led by second-year goalkeeper Elisa Paolucci. They quickly took control of the match with a strong defence by forcing the Voyageurs to do a turnover.
It did not take long for the Bold to take advantage. In the fifth minute, Lully took a pass from first-year midfielder Isabella Langeli, danced past a defender and shot low to the keeper’s right side, opening the scoring for the Bold.
The Bold bolstered their defence and held off the Voyageurs’ offence, led by second-year midfielder Vanessa Pianta and Di Natale, who intercepted several passes to regain possession for TMU.
Lully scored her second goal in the 13th minute. Third-year midfielder Jazz Dev drove the ball all the way to the net and through the keeper, allowing Lully to tap in for her brace.
“[Lully] put [in] a lot of work this summer. She came in with a completely different mindset, so I’m really happy for her because she’s someone who just puts her head down and just works,” said Yacou.
While Lully led the way on the scoreboard, Dev became a regular fixture in the game for her role on corner kicks. She was first called upon in the 15th minute and marked her territory on the corner 7 more times in the game.
In the 20th minute, a collision occurred between the second-year Bold defender Kennedy Pryce and second-year Voyageurs midfielder Sophia Oommen. The Laurentian player was taken off the field by a trainer after some time for a stoppage.
The Voyageurs’ defence started to improve once they put a stop to a chance created by Dev in the 27th minute, which in turn led to some chances with the ball. Going towards the end of the first half, the visitors seized their longest possession of the game so far, though they couldn’t get a shot through the Bold defence.
The Bold left the first half with a 2-0 lead and the majority of control of the ball. They’d keep that going in the second half.
An early chance for Fasan almost increased the Bold lead, but the Voyageurs managed to get in the way and force a turnover.
At the 51st minute, Lully took her third shot on the goal but just nearly missed, hitting the crossbar. This became a trend in the game, as a slew of scoring chances would find everything but the net in the next few minutes.
Nevertheless, the Bold continued to roll at both ends of the field. In the 56th minute, Langeli almost scored another goal for TMU but the Voyageurs managed to shut down her attempt with a block. When the Voyageurs regained possession of the ball, they tried to start up their offence but immediately got shut down by the Bold defence.
With control over the ball, the Bold kept passing around, keeping the Voyageurs on their toes while also looking for a chance to break through. Lully posted near the net and waited for an opportunity. That golden ticket presented itself as soon as Dev passed the ball to first-year midfielder Lisamarie Arangio in the box, who was then tripped by the Voyageurs.
Lully was called to the spot and made no mistake scoring her third goal. She shot the ball into the lower right corner of the net and celebrated with her team. This marked Lully’s first-ever hat trick in her OUA career.
“I think I’ll hold this [moment] in my heart forever,” said Lully.
Right after scoring the goal, Lully was subbed off for Auger, one of the seniors celebrated before the game. MacLellan also subbed in at that time.
“Seniors night was mostly for [the seniors] and I’m glad that we got this win for them. I was so happy for [Auger] to come and take my place,” said Lully.
Winning the game secured the Bold the fourth-place spot in the OUA East division and the chance to host a playoff game. If the Bold manage to keep their momentum going and win their next game against the Nipissing Lakers, they will break a record for the most wins in program history.
“[We] actually had the best week of training [and] we expected to play the way we did. I think this was our most solid performance all season,” said Yacou.
UP NEXT: TMU Bold returns to Downsview Park on Sunday, Oct. 13, for a match-up with the third-place Nipissing Lakers. Kick-off is set for 1 p.m.
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