Photo Credit: Greg Mason (IG: @Ottawa_Greg)
Laurentian Voyageurs Sink in 6-0 Loss to uOttawa
By While no one doubted that Steve Johnson’s Gee-Gees soccer side would enter the 2024 season with a statement, most did not expect that the incoming academic year would begin with a six-nil trouncing of Sudbury’s Laurentian Voyageurs.
Opening the 2024 OUA campaign at home, the Gee-Gees were looking to get out of the gate first as they seek to claim their third straight provincial title, a feat never accomplished before. Speaking prior to the match, Ottawa Gaffer Johnson – who is entering his 30th season at the helm of the program – touched on this possibility, reinforcing his belief in his side.
“I feel like we have a good chance,” said Johnson to reporters. “It’s never been done before and it’ll be tough but our team is certainly capable of doing it. Hopefully if we do that, we can go to National’s and enjoy our stay a bit longer than we did last year.”
Going into the Friday night matchup between the two squads, the Gee-Gees not only boasted new club hardware amongst some of their players from the club days – such as Bouity and Oriente’s Ligue1 Quebec title with the CSMRO Griffons – but they were also down a few players with injuries plaguing their bench. Most notable amongst those on the DL was starting keeper Cassidy Joslin who, after having backstopped her FC London side to an L1 Cup in League1 Ontario, has since been sidelined with a lower-body injury to start the season.
Taking Joslin’s spot in net was freshman and OSU Atletico keeper Laura Salgado, with the statistics major having signed to the Gee-gees earlier in the year. She would go on to play 62 minutes with no shots against for a split clean sheet with goalie partner Mia Leclerc, who relieved Salgado for the closing 30 minutes of play.
In front of them however, was a well-rounded and offence-oriented match, dominated by the home side’s six goals, all by different scorers. Kicking it off early in the 15′ was none other than Casandra Provost who is currently chasing her 23-goal record from last season in this, her final year of eligibility at the collegiate level. Her opener was not her most dazzling of strikes, but a strong low shot along the ground beat the outstretched and diving arms of Laurentian netminder Hunter Jones.
From there, it was all uOttawa’s game as their passes danced around the midfield, finding space to capitalize down the wings with Jenna Matsukubo and Sabrina Mangiaracina dominating their respective sides of the pitch.
Following Provost’s 15′ goal was a PK conversion by Niba Dlamini; a grand solo effort by Oriente in the 32′; another PK conversion, this time by Mangiaracina; and a 55′ ball by Eliane Gervais that would have been stopped by Jones had it not taken a funny bounce off of Jones’ glove and behind her for the 5-0 lead.
Closing out the scoring for the night was Sophia Meireles who was playing in her first match for the Garnet and Grey. A product of the Vlad Vrsecky’s OSU L1 side, Meireles wasted few of the opportunities that came her way, including her strike in the 74′ that deserves to be on highlight reels. A quick feed by Bensebaa granted the fullback with tons of space at the top right corner of the penalty area, and a high arching shot found the far-side post to bounce in for her first ever goal at the University.
Speaking post-match to Northern Tribune, Meireles touched on her emotions coming into her first campaign at the USPORTS level.
“I was very nervous at first and had some jitters,” Meireles confessed. “I went on and tried to focus up and pull off that goal later so I was able to settle down a little bit.”
“I’m glad to have that under my belt for the rest of the season and it will help as I build up my confidence while wearing this badge.”
On the other bench, Voyageurs Head Coach Randy Ribeiro, understandably disappointed, remained confident in this side. Entering his first season in the position and as Laurentian’s first-ever full-time head coach, Ribeiro brings with him a wealth of knowledge from his time with Electric City FC, Guelph United FC, and his playing career with BVB IA Waterloo in the League1 Ontario Championship.
Speaking with members of the media following the final whistle, Ribeiro stressed the “process” he is instilling in his incredibly young side, one that is made up of 50% freshmen.
“The girls have done a great job of building their trust in one another over the off-season… I’m proud that our girls didn’t stop,” Ribeiro mentioned.
He continued to discuss the formation of his new roster. “The program here was set when I came in and they are a great group of girls, they are willing to learn and are open-minded. We are always looking at how we can progress from week one until the very end of the season.”
Laurentian begin the trek back to Sudbury following Friday’s meeting as they gear up to play the Carleton Ravens on Sunday in the Nickel City. Ottawa oppositely, boast a week off until September 6th as the Trent Excalibur come to Matt Anthony Field to take part in what will be their third contest of 2024.
Header Image Credit: Greg Mason (IG: @Ottawa_Greg)
