PREVIEW: Gee-Gees women’s soccer set to kick-off RSEQ indoor league
With a short break over the holiday season, the team is back on the pitch and gearing up for their second season in the RSEQ’s indoor soccer league.
For the Gee-Gees women's soccer team, the fall season that saw them post a 12-0-2 regular season record in the OUA and hold steady as the number one ranked team in the nation. Though they missed out on a shot at repeating as National Champions, the Gee-Gees instead travelled to China and won the 2019 University World Cup, coming home as international champions.
With a short break over the holiday season, the team is back on the pitch and gearing up for their second season in the RSEQ's indoor soccer league. The schedule will see them face nine other teams from the RSEQ and a fellow OUA squad in Carleton.
Last season, a rash of injuries swept though the team and led to a quarterfinal playoff exit, following a 4-1-2 regular season record. This season, the team enters confident they can compete at a higher level against some very talented teams and hope to continue the momentum set in the fall semester.
"The level of competition in the league is fantastic," said Johnson. "Montréal, UQAM, Laval and McGill are the top programs in the RSEQ and I think on the whole will probably present more challenging opposition than some of the games we experienced last fall."
With nearly the full roster back in action, the team will still have the help of key fifth-year seniors. Gee-Gees head coach Steve Johnson is insisting on not being complacent, but rather use the opportunity they have to fit players into new roles and responsibilities.
"We're going to go into every game looking to win, but we know that this is also a fantastic opportunity to look forward to what the team might look like August," said Johnson.
"We know we have talent and depth, but we're just going to have to find who our possible replacements are for our graduating players.
The season kicks off on Jan. 19 and runs through mid-March, things will get started with a trip to take on Bishop's before seeing four straight home matches. The Gee-Gees will take on Laval, Carleton, UQAM, and UQTR in the dome at Gee-Gees Field before traveling to Montreal to take on the Carabins. The home schedule will wrap by hosting Sherbrooke on March 8, before closing things out on the road to play McGill the following weekend.
Be sure to stay tuned to the Gee-Gees website as well as the team's social media accounts @GeeGeesWSOC for news and updates from the season.