BY SCOTT HUNTER HADDOW
It will be a historic day at the Laurentian
University soccer field as the womens' team hosts its first
ever Ontario University Athletics (OUA) home play off game
against University of Guelph today at 1 pm.
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Marissa Izma (in white) and the
rest of the Lady Vees are pumped to take on the
University of Guelph today. |
The Lady Vees come into the game on a tear,
having won four of their last five games and losing only once
in their last nine games.
Head coach Rob Gallo will have his troops
ready for war against Guelph, which finished third in the OUA
South division with a record of 1-6-3, but are playing hot
lately.
"Their record doesn't reflect their play of
late," said Gallo. "They just came off an amazing
come-from-behind 2-2 tie against McMaster and are
playing with a lot of confidence and they
have nothing to lose. They are a tough, gritty squad."
Laurentian defeated Guelph, 2-0, in their
only regular season match up, back on Oct. 2.
Gallo knows Guelph will be looking to stop
Laurentian's strikers.
"Their defence will be ensuring our team's
strikers have limited time and space," said Gallo. "We will
need our midfield to step it up a notch and control the game.
Defensively, we need to keep the box clean and deliver balls
into the midfield. Our transition game, both attacking and
defending,
will have to be sharp."
Gallo expects nothing but a fight to the end
against Guelph.
"It will be a close game," said Gallo. "They
will not give us the time to play like we did in our last
match. This is OUA soccer at its best."
The home play off game means plenty to the
Lady Vees.
"Having a home play off game for the first
time represents how hard we have worked over the season, and
how our program, not only as a team, but a school has grown
over the years we have existed," said defender Cara Smith. "In
order for us to win the game, we must continue to work
hard and play as a unit. Control and constant
pressure with strong defensive play will no doubt win us this
game."
The Lady Vees will approach the playoffs one
game at a time, but winning the OUA championship and a trip to
the nationals will be the only way they satisfy their
championship thirst.
"Our ultimate goal is to win the Canadian
Interuniversity Sport (CIS) championship," said Erica
Duczeminski in an earlier interview. "To do that, we need to
keep playing like a team and score goals. We're playing well
right now, so it's realistic."
The squad has persevered through a tough
season to get a home play off game.
"We had a good year, especially (since) we
started six rookies at any one time," said Gallo. "They have
matured nicely and are a wonderful group to coach. They all
bring a winning attitude no matter what adversity they face. We
have played through injury after injury and played good
soccer.
Each player...have given us a solid
effort."
Gallo is expecting good things from his back
four of rookies Duczeminski and Samantha Falcioni, along with
junior Melynda Roach and senior Sara
Little. He will also be looking for big
performances from midfielder Cara Smith, who scored two goals
in the last regular season game against Nipissing University,
and snipers Jenna Roach and Krista Pantin.
Along with posting their best ever regular
season record, 5-2-3, the Lady Vees also set new marks for
points (18), goals for (14) and final regular season standing
(second place).
Game time at Laurentian is 1 pm. If the Lady
Vees win, they will play in the OUA quarter finals, which begin
on Saturday.
