Women’s soccer preview: September 17

> Blue is the warmest colour

Davie Wong
Sports Editor

 

o one can say that the Royals

women’s soccer team lacked
effort this week. To their credit,
they tried their collective hearts
out. But opening weekend is
probably the hardest week the
team has all season, and the
results reflected that. The team
went 1-1-1 against Langara, VIU,
and Quest. While 4 points isn’t
the best, it’s nearly .500, and that
isn’t the worst.

The win and tie under their
belt will serve the team well next
week as they take on the Capilano
Blues, who stand at 1-0-1, witha
win against Quest this week anda
tie against Langara.

As far as strength levels go,
I'd say both teams are about level.

However, that could change very
quickly. The Blues are on the
island playing VIU on Saturday,
and that game will really let the
Royals know what level the Blues
are on.

The results against VIU
will also be crucial to the Blues.
A crushing defeat could send
them home dejected and in poor
form, which would be ideal for
the Royals to capitalize on, but a
win or tie could boost the team’s
confidence, which could spell
trouble—especially if the Blues
find a way to get their offence
started against the strangely
defensively weak VIU.

Other than circumstances
out of the Royals control, there
are a few things the Royals will
need to do going into Sunday to
ensure a win, one of which is to

tighten up defensively. Overall,
this weekend, the team allowed six
goals in total. An average of two
goals a game isn’t bad, but when
you consider that five of those
were in a single game, and that the
goalkeeper bailed the team out to
a clean sheet, it seems a little more
stretched. While Capilano is by no
means an offensive powerhouse,
they did manage to put away three
goals this weekend in two games.
An average of 1.5 goals a game is
on par with the Royals average of 2
goals allowed per game, but if the
Royals want anything other than a
tie, they will need to step it up.
The other thing they will
need to figure out is just how their
offence works. While the six goals
this weekend were great, they all
came from different individuals,
except for Andrea Perrotta’s two

against VIU. This could mean

a few things. Either the Royals
getting goals from everywhere and
everyone means they’re a strong
offensive team, or the Royals
havent really figured out who
their go-to goal scorer is yet. Keep
in mind, the Royals lost their top
two goal scorers this offseason,
who were also the best goal scorers
in PACWEST. It’s natural that the
beginning of this season would
showcase a wide array of offensive
talent. But the player who stepped
into the shoes of the former Royals
strikers seems to be struggling the
most.

Mikayla Hamilton scored
once this weekend off a wonderful
shot against VIU. But other than
that goal, she seemed to struggle
to get decent chances throughout
the three games. It isn’t for a lack

Women's soccer review: September 07-11

> Royals start the season on an even keel

Davie Wong
Sports Editor

 

A the women took the field
on a wet Wednesday, fans in
the stands could notice something
different about this year’s team,

or rather, that things weren't quite
the same. This year’s women’s
soccer team only boasts a few
familiar faces from last year’s
national ranking team. Whether
or not this team could match the
previous squad’s skill and speed
was about to be put to the test.

The early start that some
teams hoped for was not the
reality that faced Douglas. Right
out of the gates, the Royals
matched up against the Langara
Falcons, who held nothing back
against their bitter rivals. It was
a cold way to start an even colder
night, but the adrenaline and
blood pumping through both
team’s bodies kept them warm.

The Royals needed that
warmth, as they lost battle after
battle in the frosty September air.
Their ground game was much
better, and although they got
more runs and dangerous looks at
the net than Langara, they failed
to get their shots on net. On the
other side of the field, the Royals
defence held back what could
have been dangerous chances and
turned them into missed shots or
easy saves. Both sides refused to
budge and they took an even game
into half time.

Coming out of half, the only
thing that changed was the Royals’
luck. An iffy card started it off, and
things just got worse and worse
from there. Several moments later,
a bad bounce and an error from
the Royals goalkeeper gave the
Falcons the lead with an easy tuck-

away goal.

Down a goal, the Royals
found a way to turn on the
pressure and keep it on. The
Royals got several shots towards,
but never really on, the net. A
couple of bounces and lofted kicks
did it for the game, and the Royals
lost ina tight match.

“We didn’t create enough
solid chances tonight,” said head
coach Chris Laxton after the
game. “We had one mistake at the
back today and that’s all it took. I
thought it was a nil-nil game but
all credit to them for capitalizing
on our mistake.”

The team had a lot of work
to do in quite little time. Four
days after their match against the
Falcons, the Royals had an even
bigger challenge coming their way.
It was bound to happen sometime
this season; the VIU Mariners
were coming for a visit, and they
wanted some sweet revenge for
the loss that the Royals handed
them so deftly at provincials.

The intensity of the game
was established quickly as Royals
defender Sonali Dholliwar found a
hole and took advantage, scoring
the first of the game. However,
VIU came right back and scored 2
within 10 minutes of the first goal.
But the Royals recovered, and
were able to hold as they rode out
the rest of the half.

Coming out in the second,
the Douglas College team looked
better, but were still unlucky. Off
the attack, a VIU shot bounced
and ended back on the foot of a
Mariner, who tapped it into the
net and put their team up two
goals.

It was going to take a hefty
effort from the defending
provincial champs to come back
into this game. Good thing the

Royals have plenty of that. A
magnificent shot from midfielder
Chanelle Collins sent the ball
flying into the top right-hand
corner of the net, and gave the
Royals the goal they needed to get
back into the game.

However, after the play, it was
right back the other way. Although
the Mariners didn’t score, an
unfortunate collision sent the
Royals keeper, Chantalle Bracken,
off the field, and secondary keeper
Alexa Gazzola into the net. The
Mariners were not at all kind to
the new keeper, and converted on
an excellent chance following a
corner kick.

Never to be counted out,
the Royals charged back up the
field. A lethal looking play forced
a bad foul for the Mariners just
outside of the penalty box. A
resulting yellow card and free kick
gave Andrea Perrotta a chance to
bring the Royals close again. She
delivered perfectly, sending the
ball in a downward arc into the
bottom right-hand corner.

A few moments later, it
would be Perrotta with another
opportunity to convert for the
Royals. A hard foul inside the
penalty box gave the home team a
chance to equalize from the spot,
and Perrotta got the nod to take
the shot. She led up with a perfect
step, and a slight move that sent
the Mariners keeper flying to the
right, while she coolly tucked the
ball away into bottom-left corner.

With the game level, the
Royals took a sigh of relief. They
let up on the control for just a
little, but soon realized that was
a bad mistake. A missed clear
from the jubilant Royals created
a turnover for the Mariners, anda
goal on the ensuing break.

With time running out, the

Royal needed a miracle to draw
even. Royals forward Mikayla
Hamilton delivered the game-
tying strike from quite the ways
out. Ona bad angle, Hamilton
took the best shot she had, and
ripped the ball into the top left-
hand corner, giving the Mariner’s
keeper no chance.

It would draw flat from
there, as Hamilton’s strike would
be the last to end up in the net
that game. With little time on
the clock remaining, both teams
settled for the draw, rather than
risk losing the game. It was a goal
scoring bonanza, with a final score
of 5-5.

After the game, Laxton took
the time to address his team’s
performance on the pitch. “We
battled hard today. We came back
from being down three different
times, and I think that shows that
this team has heart. We're always
looking for three points, but VIU
is a good team, and a draw against
them coming into the season is a
fine result.”

As thrilling as that game
was, it was only the first of two
that the team had to play that
weekend. Next up on the list was
the Quest Kermodes. The visiting
team from the Valley has always
been a challenge, only made more
difficult by the intense week the
team had already.

Nonetheless, come kickoff,
the Royals were ready to play.

It was a match of skill against
freshness and speed. The
Kermodes came into Sunday’s
bout after having Saturday off,
and they were just a bit quicker
than the Royals. But the Royals
showed everyone just why they
were national competitors. Skillful
play ensured the ball stayed out

of their end, and although they

of effort either. Andrea Perrotta
has been fantastic for the Royals
offence, supplying through ball
after through ball and crafting
wonderful chances with pinpoint
passes. They just haven't been
converted on. If Perrotta and
Hamilton get on the same wave-
length, and Hamilton snipes a
goal once or twice a game, the
Royals could easily look to be
one of the deadlier teams in
PACWEST. If not, Chris Laxton
may have to figure out how to
support his striker, and take
some pressure off of her by giving
Perrotta another target to pass to.
Regardless, the match against
the Blues will be another chance
for the Royals to get three points.
A win would give them a huge
boost in the standings, if results
elsewhere go their way.

didn’t get many scoring chances,
they denied chances on their
end, and the match headed into
half-time on a draw. Coming out
of half-time, it didn’t look like
much had changed. Play was so
equal that any mistake would
probably result in a game-winning
goal. For the skillful Royals, it
didn’t take too long into the half
before they were able to force a
game-changing mistake. An ugly
turnover by the Kermodes as a
result of constant Royals pressure
gave co-captain Michelle Wessa

a chance from the 25-metre line.
She lifted the Royals with her
shot, which went up and over the
goalkeeper, and into the net.

The goal lit a fire under
the Kermodes. The Royals were
forced to play defence against
the Kermodes’ angry offence,
and Alexa Gazzola made several
magnificent saves. Still, the
Kermodes managed to get one
shot past her, which was saved by
midfielder Madison Hendry, who
lifted the ball up and out of danger
from the goal-line.

The Kermodes kept pressing
until the end, but still couldn’t get
a ball past Gazzola and the Royals,
who closed out the game 1-0, and
ended the weekend 1-1-1, with 4
points to their name.

After the game, Coach Laxton
shared just how pleased he was
with his goal keepers this year:
“We have a very strong goalkeeper
core this year. Our goalkeeping
pool is as deep as it’s ever been,
so I was confident putting Alexa
in yesterday, and I was confident
with her starting today.” The
rookie rewarded Laxton’s faith
in her with a huge game and
delivered the Royals their first win
of the season.