On Tuesday, October 9th, the UTM women’s varsity soccer team had their second last game of the regular season against the Sheridan Bruins. This was a crucial game for the women as it would have raised their chances of advancing to the OCAA playoffs.
The game did not start off as planned for the Eagles as the Bruins scored within the first minute of the game. An unfortunate stumble by a UTM player led the Bruins to be up 1-0.
The first half was dominated by Sheridan. UTM looked tired and this led to sloppy passes, unnecessary giveaways, and a quiet playing field. Sheridan managed to score two more goals within the first half—one off of a set play and one from a wicked shot by the Sheridan striker.
The halftime talk, though filled with frustration, allowed the women to sort through their dissatisfaction on the field and work together to figure out a new game plan. UTM came out stronger in the second half, showing their resiliency as a team.
Their passes were crisper, their runs were made with purpose, and their intensity was raised. With a little fire lit under them, they pressed the Sheridan defense, forcing them to constantly be under pressure. UTM capitalized on Sheridan’s mistakes and were getting multiple chances to score. Finally, it was UTM’s second-year striker, Sirsly Abakah-Etrue, who buried one for UTM with a perfectly placed ball into the bottom right corner of the net.
With UTM running out of time, they were sending more women into the attack. Despite their clear dominance in the second half, the women could not seem to find the back of the net once again. The score remained 3-1 for Sheridan with UTM seeing their chances of making the playoffs slip further away.
The women played their final game of the season on Sunday, October 14 in Sudbury where they tied 0-0.
Please note that this article was written by a member of the UTM women’s varsity soccer team.
