The scoresheet was kind to the Nipissing Lakers’ women’s soccer team on Saturday afternoon. The final score was 1–0 for U of T, the product of a second-half goal by striker Aisha Lewis. The shot totals painted a much more stark difference between the two teams, as the Varsity Blues dominated both the shot count (19–6) and the number of shot attempts taken (31–12).

The Blues were given an early scare as Nipissing registered a quick shot down the wing, but it was all Toronto after that. The Blues’ midfield hemmed the Lakers in their own side repeatedly, preventing any further progress by Nipissing. Registering ten shots in the first half alone, the Blues were dominating the game.

Defender Shaylea Badovinac helped the Blues to consecutive shutouts this weekend.

The second half also started slowly for the Blues, with a flurry of activity around third-year goalkeeper Sara Petrucci. Still, the Lakers failed to register a shot in the first 30 minutes of the half, and finished it with just one. The Blues rebounded with Lewis, scoring the Blues’ only goal on her seventh shot of the game.

“I think it definitely is part of our rhythm to get as many opportunities on net as possible, because at the end of the day, we do want to score,” Lewis said after the game. “I think we definitely could have capitalized on a lot more opportunities, but we got the result that we wanted.”

Those chances came more and more as the game went on. Head coach Anthony Capotosto said that a big part of this was because: “the players that came off our bench made a significant contribution in the second [half].” Blues player Christine Zwimpfer, who came on in the 80th minute, registered three shots in just 10 minutes of play.

The win was the first of the season for the women’s team, which  now holds a 1–2 record with 12 regular season games to come. Lewis said: “I think definitely there’s a kind of a rhythm once we win our first game, and there’s definitely a confidence that goes to our team once we get that first win, which propels us forward.”

First-year defender Alexandra Rocha.

Apart from Lewis, aggressive defender Shaylea Badovinac, and striker Alexandra Rocha were also standout players. The team tied 0-0 in their game on Sunday against the Laurentian Voyageurs, and will play again on Wednesday at 6:00 pm when they face Trent at Varsity Stadium. U of T will play host to the CIS championship in November.