Women’s soccer Wolves lose 3-1 to top-ranked Centennial

A goal by the Centennial Colts five minutes into a women’s soccer match against the Algonquin Wolves on Oct. 5 set the tone for visiting team’s 3-1 win at the Woodroffe Sports Field.

On that cool afternoon, with the sun in her eyes, Centennial’s Soledad Vazquez-Cicutto shot a free kick over the Algonquin wall, off goalie Paige King’s fingers, and into the back of the net.

That was huge for morale, according to Mykaela Volpe, a Centennial assistant coach. “We’ve been scoring in second halves more than first halves, so it was nice to see the scorers come in strong to start the game,” Volpe said.

The Centennial Colts maintained a hard press for the rest of the half, heavily keeping the ball in Algonquin’s zone. At 44 minutes, Algonquin’s Jasmine Young injured her left ankle while contesting a ball and had to leave the field.

The second half started similarly, with Vazquez-Cicutto marking another point at 51 minutes, an arcing shot above the scrum and King’s outstretched arms. The Centennial fans, often noisier than Algonquin’s, were elated.

Algonquin got one back at 67 minutes when Kassandra Da Cruz scored on a penalty kick, with the goalie too slow to stop it.

But then at 78 minutes, Centennial’s Mylie Decoff struck the dagger with a shot that bounced off Olivia Bradley’s block and into the goal.

Despite letting in three goals, King had many impressive saves. At 14 minutes, her initial block sent the ball over her head and towards the net, only for King to spin around and punch it out to safety. She followed up with a Superman sideways dive at 24 minutes and a one-handed deflection at 27 minutes.

In the end, the score was 3-1 for Centennial.

“I think the free kick from Sol [Vazquez-Cicutto] started the tone. Serena [Mcdonald]’s pressing, Mylie on the wings, and the defence not letting anyone in,” Volpe said when asked about the key factors of the victory. “I think it was a whole collective team effort that brought it home for us today.”

The Centennial Colts are now the top-ranked team in the OCAA Women’s Soccer East Division. On the previous day, they were tied with Seneca, who also defeated Algonquin yesterday.

“I think it’s going to be a tight race for the top two or three spots,” Volpe said. “We’re looking to hold on to the top one or two spots and we’ll go from there,” she added.

Algonquin is tied for third place with Cambrian but still has two more games in the regular season. Cambrian only has one more game and it’s against the Wolves at Algonquin’s Sports Field on Oct. 12.

“I don’t think we can hit first anymore,” said Basil Phillips, the Wolves’ head coach. “‘Cause the two teams we’re chasing are the two teams we played this weekend, and it’s unlikely they’ll lose to anyone else in the league.”

George Brown, four points behind Algonquin and Cambrian, could also become a threat. But in any case, the Wolves are assured a playoff spot.

“We’ve got a lot that we have to improve on,” Phillips said. “Areas all over the field. We’ll work on them and be better next time.”

Algonquin will face the St. Lawrence Surge in Kingston on Oct. 9.