The University of Toronto Varsity Blues women’s soccer team shook off their only loss this season against the Carleton Ravens just 15 seconds into last Sunday’s game. On the game’s first possession, Blues veteran midfielder Jenessa Banwell beat the Ravens goalkeeper Katherine Shaughnessy on a centering pass from rookie Jennifer Siu.
“The first goal sent the message right away that we’re here to play, and we’re here to win this game,” said interim head coach Eva Havaris. That goal proved to be the eventual game-winner as Toronto shut down Carleton with a 4-0 win at Varsity Centre. The win allowed the Blues to improve to 5-1 on the season for 15-points, putting them atop the OUA standings. The Ravens’ record fell to a 3-2-1.
“It’s a great feeling, not only to just beat [Carleton] but to beat them by that much,” said team captain Laura Arduini. “We were focused all week and we knew what we had to do. We knew the fight we were going to have and we all came and showed up to play. I was really proud of them. Just to know that everyone is doing their part is amazing.”
The Blues were opportunistic, with third-year midfielder Erica Basso scoring the second goal in the 32nd minute on a perfectly executed header over the outstretched hands of Shaughnessy. By contrast, the Ravens showed little fight. They played a flat game, allowing the Blues to dominate both offensively and defensively, unable to penetrate the Blues solid defense that kept Carleton without a shot on goal in the first half.
“We just cleaned up what we didn’t do the first time that we played them,” explained Coach Havaris, when asked about what changes were made for the rematch. “We’re not concentrating necessarily on our opponents; we were working on our own performance. We knew how we wanted to play this weekend and the girls applied what we did all week in practice.”
Carleton came out with more energy in the beginning of the second half, but they were stopped on every opportunity by the Blues veteran goalkeeper Mary Anne Barnes. A defensive breakdown in the Ravens end eventually allowed for the third Blues goal. Siu, whose speed had been giving Carleton’s defense trouble throughout the game, caught the Ravens off guard at the 74th minute. Left wide open, she let loose a hard shot from nearly 30 yards from the goal to beat Shaughnessy.
The goal visibly deflated Carleton’s spirits as the Blues capped off their scoring at the 87th minute. Siu finished her impressive afternoon by providing the cross to first-year striker Julianna Bergin as they cruised to the 4-0 win. “It was a strong offensive and defensive showing,” commented Havaris on the complete victory. “We prepared all week for this game and it showed.”
“We’ve just got to bring this energy that we have right now. Even after the game we’re still jumping around,” said Arduini. “If we bring that into every game, it’d be hard to stop us.”
