Photo by Valerie Wutti
The Carleton Ravens women’s soccer team put in an impressive defensive performance holding Canada’s ninth-ranked team the York University Lions to a 0-0 draw Friday afternoon at the Raven’s Perch.
Carleton goalkeeper Chloe Lachance-Soulard (Ottawa, Ont.) made two great saves and punched away a dangerous cross in the opening 10 minutes as the York Lions came out swinging early on.
The Ravens started developing chances of their own after weathering an early York storm. Selena Moussa (Ottawa, Ont.) and Lauren Illman (Whitby, Ont.) for Carleton put together a crafty counterattack which saw a great chance for Moussa that she put wide. Illman had the best chance of the opening half for Carleton with a header right outside the 6-yard box that was saved by York goalkeeper on the cusp of halftime.
The York Lions pressed hard in the final 20 minutes of the match looking for the tiebreaker which never came. Carleton’s Chloe Lachance-Soulard continued to have a strong performance with an impressive stretch of saves to preserve the clean sheet and the point for the Ravens.
Ravens’ head coach Dom Oliveri was upbeat in his post-game press conference. “We’ve now taken points off the number three and number nine ranked teams in the country. We’re showing what we’re capable of when we play our game. It’s a bright future for the program,” he said.
The Ravens suffered two crucial injuries in this match. Alyssa Borello (Milton, Ont.) walked off the pitch slowly after being on the receiving end of a hard challenge, before being replaced by Stella Oliver (Dundas, Ont.). In the second half, Salena Devellis (Barrie, Ont,) went down hard after a tackle and had to receive treatment on the sidelines as Ghalia Hammada (Kanata, Ont.) had to come on to replace her.
Friday’s match marked a youth movement for the Ravens. Only 2 of starting 11 from Friday afternoon were in their fourth year of eligibility. When asked post-game if this would be a trend for the rest of the season, Coach Oliveri said “If they keep playing well like they did tonight and they keep bringing it every day in training then yeah. What we’re looking for here is consistency and players who bring it every day.”
The Trent Excalibur will be Carleton’s final opponent this season in a home-and-home to close out the 2021 campaign. The Ravens take on Trent from Justin Chiu Stadium at 5:00 p.m. on Oct. 29. Then, a Halloween rematch between Carleton and Trent takes place at Raven’s Perch on Oct. 31 at 1:00 p.m. Come on out and watch your Carleton Ravens in their 2021 finale.