Although they didn't win a provincial title,
the Laurentian University women's soccer team won a lot of
respect this season. Not blessed with a pure superstar that
could single-handedly win games, the Lady Vees brought their
lunch pails to each and every game this season and fought
tooth-and-nail for every square inch of grass on the OUA
fields.
 |
| name="valign"
top >
SCOTT HUNTER HADDOW |
After an impressive regular season, which saw
the team go 3-2-5 and finish third in the North Division, the
Lady Vees stunned most, except themselves, by ousting Brock
University and York University in OUA playoff action to make it
to the final four dance.
At the final four, the Lady Vees dropped a
3-1 decision to the number one ranked team in Canada, the
University of Western Ontario. They then lost the bronze medal
game to the University of Toronto, 4-1.
What makes this team even greater was the
fact it was a homegrown winner. No less than eight members of
the squad hailed from Sudbury. A ninth,
Sally Parent, missed this season due to a
knee injury.
Sudbury's Kristy MacKenzie, Jen Carbone, Cara
Smith, Lauren Duhaime, Katie McNamara, Julia Boschetto and
Melynda Roach were all important contributors, as were all
members, to the team's success.
But in the wake of the losses though shines a
bright future for the Lady Vees in 2005.
The team will lose some of its defensive
punch and local flavour with the graduation of Carbone and
MacKenzie. The team will also use vital midfielder Jolene
Fournier.
What returns is a formidable nucleus. A
nucleus that head coach Rob Gallo will hopefully use as a
foundation for bigger and better things in 2005.
"The one thing coming into training camp in
2005 is that the bar has been set significantly higher for the
team," said Gallo. "They're no longer satisfied with making the
playoffs. They want to go further than this season. The
expectations will certainly be there, however, we're also
realistic. A lot of teams are going to be better, and we will
have our job cut out for us to stay on top."
Smith and Roach will anchor the defence.
Smith was voted to the 2004 OUA North/South division First
All-Star team.
The news for OUA strikers is bad, as McNamara
and Boschetto will both be back to defend the Laurentian net
from opponents. They combined for seven straight shutouts to
start the season, and there's no reason to believe they can't
do the same again next season.
Up front, Laurentian will look to Marissa
Izma for goals. Izma, who lead the team in goal scoring in
2003, battled injuries all season and was sorely missed. She
can be a bonafide scorer when healthy, just what the Lady Vees
need.
Belief is what set this team apart from
others.
"We went through injuries and had players
playing out of position," said Gallo. "They believed in us as
coaches, but most importantly, they believed in each other. The
university, community, along with the parents rallied around
them. Brittany MacMillan's parents flew all the way from
Winnipeg
to the final four to cheer the team
on."
