On Saturday, February 18, the UTM women’s soccer team attended a tournament hosted by Sheridan College at Redeemer College.
UTM played their first game against Conestoga—a team UTM had not faced for a couple of years. They weren’t sure how Conestoga would play, but coach Damian Yearwood told his team to “focus and play your game,” which they did.
From the beginning of the match, the girls came out strong. They had excellent ball control and movement was calm and supported one another well. Kayla Rice, a right-footed rookie defender, scored her second goal of the indoor season on a left-footed hard and low shot into the corner of the net. This put UTM up 1-0 within the first 10 minutes of the game. Shortly after, Jayde Forde scored to put UTM up by two. In the last 10 minutes of the game, Vanessa Cesario scored off a free kick—assisted by Noor Aldoori. The UTM girls won their first game 3-0.
With their adrenaline running high, the girls went into their next game. They played the Centennial Colts and won 3-0. While on a hot streak, Forde scored her second and third goals of the day.
After being out for the entire outdoor season and half of the indoor season due to injury, Teagan Maier-Downing was ready for action. After causing havoc for Centennial in their defensive zone, she scored her first goal of the year, leaving UTM with their second win of the day.
With barely a 30-minute rest period, UTM was out on the pitch once more to play St. Clair College. From the start, the girls were exhausted from the demands of the day, which led to a loss of 2-0.
However, the girls went out into their semi-final game against Sheridan College stronger than ever. UTM controlled the majority of the match, and most of the play was spent in their opponent’s half. Unfortunately, UTM got an unlucky break, and Sheridan scored, giving them the win of 1-0.
The women are showing a solid improvement since their win-less 2016 outdoor campaign. With the combined improvement of both skill and effort, the women will surely be a powerful force in the 2017 OCAA season.
The varsity women are now preparing to head to Regionals in London on March 6.
