Photo Credit: Martin Bazyl / League1 Ontario
Hamilton Point Streak Continues in Draw With Whitby
By In a second half to a season that most coaches could only dream of, Hamilton United Gaffer Carmine Lancia and company have demonstrated true potential over the last six matches, with the girls in orange netting six straight victories and only three goals against.
Coming into their Wednesday night contest with Whitby FC, the excitement and drive for more was palpable, despite the previous meeting between the two sides going 3-0 in the east-enders’ favour. Nonetheless, with the rain coming down on McMaster University’s Ron Joyce Stadium, it was anyones game with only a handful of matches left in the 2025 L1Ontario Women’s Championship season.
Speaking prior to the match, Coach Lancia was more reserved in his excitement regarding the streak but spoke to how his team’s dedication and composition have directly led to positive results on-pitch. “The girls have been committed to training and it has relayed into their performance… we’re trying to build a program here at Hamilton United from our [younger squads] to our L2 and we have a lot of good young youth talent.”
All the same, the visiting Arrowheads of Whitby FC and their Coach Chris Reilly understood their assignment and despite issues with consistency, the lead man saw these struggles – especially recently with one win since mid June – as products of the league at large and not a reflection of his side.
“The League1 season is a grind. You go from having 12 days off to having 4 games in 10 days,” said Reilly. “Every team has the same [issues] with players coming back from school, going to school, and you just have to stabilize your roster.. certainly the movement of players creates challenges.”
And so, with the opening blast of Referee Christine Li’s whistle, both sides had a goal in mind: either continue the winning streak or to deny the streak’s continuation. But what materialized excited all those in attendance.
Although the first few minutes of the match were akin to a tight ping-pong, it would not take much longer for one of the sides to break the deadlock, with the favour falling in favour of the hosting Hamilton. After a clearance from the Whitby backline, good plays by Janelle Sylvestre and Hannah Kent ultimately found Madison Paige Goertz in the penalty area. With a feeding header towards the penalty spot, a failed clearance bounced towards Sabrina Cunha who volleyed it home past Whitby keeper Volpe.
This lead would bring good spirits to the Hamilton bench, but those would be short-lived thanks to an absolute rocket by Whitby’s Sam Russell to level it out. After a giveaway by the Hamilton midfield, Courtney Poelman’s cross within the penalty area would be deflected out with the clearance failing once more. As the ball rolled to the feet of Russell at the 25yd mark, her shot soared over the reaching hand of Hamilton GK Madeleine Boucher and into the top left corner of the net. See above!
Despite the solo effort goal, Russell spoke to the team’s performance while addressing the media post-match. “I couldn’t have done it without the support of my team and it was a great cutback by [Poelman],” said the Georgetown, ON native. “It was a great team effort by everyone… [Coach Reilly] told us to come out strong, get an early head start and set the tone, and I think we did that.”
Come the second half and it began all in favour of Whitby as they dominated possession and attacking chances for the first 10 mins, particularly as Poelman netted one of her own to put the visitors up 2-1. Some great moves on the near side of the penalty area by teammate Kai Douglas meant she had the time to find the streaking Poelman at the spot for the one-timer past Boucher.
For nearly forty more minutes, Whitby held on to this lead, stripping Hamilton of the ball whenever they could and denying every opportunity for an equalizer. Coming down to the wire, Coach Lancia tried whatever he and his roster could muster to squeeze out a point, with their saving grace coming in the shape of half-time substitute Cassandra Campanella.
With a quick throw-in taken from the far line, several clearance failures by Whitby saw the bouncing ball make its way to the feet of Campanella, whose impeccable timing and then perfect shot beat the offside trap and right arm of Volpe.
When asked about the goal, Campanella took a similar stance as her Whitby counterpart in Russell as she too spoke to the team dynamic and its impact on her goal. “It’s been a tough season but a [prideful] one… I was definitely in my head at the start when I got that yellow but that goal was our team goal. That’s why I ran to my teammates.” She added that the culture created within the club has been a major motivating factor.
“The passion for the sport is what keeps me going [alongside] a love of my team; we really are Hamilton United,” said the midfielder and Mohawk College Mountaineer. “It was a hard-fought game for my team, for me, and what we’re going through.”
After a few days respite, both sides will be returning to action on the road this Sunday, July 20. Hamilton will travel up the Burlington Skyway to take on Scrosoppi FC, with the winner having the opportunity to leap Pickering in the race for first. Oppositely, Whitby will stay in the west-end of the GTA to face off with Unionville Milliken SC, who are presently the top-markers of the bottom half of the table.
