Heartbreaker for Lakers — PHOTO GALLERY
Posted By JORDAN ERCIT, THE NUGGET
Updated 3 months ago
The Carleton Ravens gave Nipissing a double dose of heartbreak Wednesday afternoon, ushering both Lakers soccer squads into the off-season with a pair of playoff heartbreakers.
At the mud-slicked R. J. Surtees Student Athletics Centre field, the Lady Lakers were on the verge of their first post-season victory in the program's history before the Ravens rallied for a pair of goals in the final 13 minutes of play and a 2-1 win as a result.
After Kim Tait gave the Lakers the lead in the eighth minute on a David Beckham-esque corner kick goal, Amanda Ngwafusi and Shayla Lavecchia scored in the 78th and 81st minutes respectively for the Ravens and goal keeper Rachel Bedek made a couple of key saves late to earn a berth into the second round of the Ontario University Athletics East Division playoffs.
The Ravens will play either North Bay's Kelli Chamberlain and the Queen's Gaels or the Toronto Varsity Blues Saturday.
We had a strong second half is extremely proud in what we accomplished this year," Lakers head coach Vito Castiglione said of his team, who won four of their last five games to clinch their first home playoff game since 2003.
It's unfortunate it ended the way it ended because I think we should have beat Carleton today and moved on . . . But we're extremely proud and they can hold their heads up high and look forward to next season."
For the first half Wednesday, it looked like the Lakers were going to extend this season by at least one more game.
First Tait, the Lakers' third-year defender, curved a high-arching shot into the top-left corner of the net and past Bedek and Nipissing controlled the play until a potential Ravens' goal by Aisha Stinson at the tail end of the half was negated by an offside.
Nipissing never seemed to regain momentum after that play as the Ravens assaulted Lakers goal keeper Sam Behm in the second half. Behm made several stunning saves, including a point blank stop on Carleton's Natalie Griffith, but Carleton never seemed to run out of opportunities.
There's a good character and a good team spirit there (on the Ravens)," said first-year Carleton head coach Alex McNutt, whose key contributors chiefly include a core of fifth-year players and a handful of rookies. We knew the first half would be tough in the mud and we knew going into the second half only one behind that we'd push and were confident we'd get a couple of goals.
It (the comeback) was not a surprise for us, but maybe it was for them (the Lakers)."
Aside from the end to their season, four Lady Lakers also saw their OUA careers come to an end, including Alex Instance, Didiane Chollet, Melissa Snedden and Kathleen Fuller.
But the Lakers will still have the potential for a solid returning core, including Behm and top scorers Tait, Leesa Church and Amy Laidlaw.
We're going to miss the commitment," Castiglione said of his four graduating players. Those four girls were always there all the time. They provided great leadership and character. They were good with the (other) girls and we'll miss that."
Men lose in OT
In Ottawa, the Lakers' Odean Thompson forced overtime against the No. 3 Ravens but Caki Simrooglu's second goal of the game two minutes into extra time saved Carleton from an upset at the hands of No. 6 Nipissing.
Simrooglu scored in the eighth and 92nd minutes, while Thompson forced extra time with a goal two minutes into the second half.
The Lakers, who were without several key players at the end of the season including team captain Andy Clarke but still managed to make the playoffs after a one-year absence, also have a large group of players who can potentially return next season.
Only five players have more than four years of service, including Clarke, Thompson, Dave Keo, Mohammed Nyangado and Mike Hamilton.
jercit@nugget.ca
