1999 OUA Women's Soccer Champions

RECAP: Gee-Gees blank Gryphons in final

It has often been said that defence wins titles, and the Ottawa Gee-Gees proved it again yesterday.

The Gee-Gees blanked the Guelph Gryphons 1-0 to win the Ontario University Athletics women's soccer championship without allowing a goal, adding lustre to an unbeaten run this season.

Ottawa began the three-day OUA tournament at Keith Harris Stadium on the Carleton University campus with a 3-0 win against the Brock Badgers on Friday, and they downed the York Yeowomen 1-0 in a semifinal match on Saturday. 

"We're just tough and we never give up," Gee-Gees defender Keri Hoffman said. "Everybody plays well defensively. I don't know how to explain it. We're very strong, we're dedicated and everybody gives 100 per cent, thurns around gets the ball out, and gets right back at it."

Ottawa hasn't allowed a goal since Oct. 16, when it defeated the Carleton Ravens 6-1 in a regular season contest. 

Against the Gryphons, the Gee-Gees came out flying, registering several good scoring opportunities, but they failed to convert and the game was tied 0-0 at halftime.

Early in the second half, Ottawa forward Deanna Saracino hit the post with a shot. Finally, with six minutes remaining, Mary-Love Joy and Ayana Nurse set up Jennifer Biondi to the left of the Guelph goal, and the Gee-Gees striker slammed a left-footed kick past goalkeeper Rita Basso for the winning tally.

"We knew it was just a matter of time before we were going to put the ball in the net," Biondi said. "We had a hard time against Brock in the first game because we're so used to scoring right away. It's a hard transition from scoring seven goals in a game to scoring one."

The Gee-Gees and the Gryphons will both head to the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union championships at Waterloo since the OUA has two berths in the nationals.

Fortunately for Ottawa, that tournament doesn't start for a week and a half or so. The break will be important for the recovery of forward Isabelle Lessard, one of the Gee-Gees top scorers and an OUA all-star. She missed the OUA semifinal and final with a pinched nerve in her thigh.

"Three games in three days is really tough," siad Ottawa coach Steve Johnson. "Some players were already hurting and they played 90 mintues in each game."

Including preseason, regular season, and conference play, the Gee-Gees are unbeaten in 21 games this year.

"I never expected we would go undefeated," Saracino said. "We just wanted to play our best and know that whatever happened, whether we won games, tied or even lost games, it was just the way we played. Our goal was never to be undefeated, just to play our best and come out on top. It's just an extra bonus that nobody beat us."

In the broze medal game yesterday, the Western Mustangs beat York 1-0 on a penalty kick by Julie Valvasori in the second overtime. Referee Martin Langura had called York for a handball.

Note: this article was originally published by the Ottawa Citizen on November 1, 1999. It was written by Darren Desaulniers.

OUA SF RECAP: Gee-Gees keep conference title in their sights

The Ottawa Gee-Gees and the York Yeowomen soccer teams were so closely matched that they should almost have drawn straws to see which one would go on to the Ontario University Athletics final. 

They didn't, so a goal by Mary-Love Joy with less than 15 minutes remaining was the difference yesterday as the Gee-Gees prevailed 1-0 in their semifinal game at Keith Harris Stadium.

That goal also gave the Gee-Gees one of the OUA's two berths in the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union national championship two weeks from now at Waterloo.

Today, Ottawa will face the Guelph Gryphons in the OUA final on the Carleton University campus. Guelph earned its berth in the final, and a spot in the nationals, with a 1-0 win against the Western Ontario Mustangs in yesterday's other semifinal match. Christine Zimmerman socred the only goal at 1:40 of the first half.

The Gee-Gees and the Yeowomen had met twice during the regular season, tying both by scores of 0-0 and 1-1. "We knew we had to go out there and put everything into this game. It was all heart for 90 minutes," Joy said. "We knew they had a good team, but we knew we could beath them if we played together."

After a scoreless first half, the Yeowomen came out strong in the second, mounting pressure on the Gee-Gees. That pressure produced several scoring opportunities but few shots as Ottawa continued to play the kind of defence that held its opponents to only four goals in 13 regular season and playoff games, including Friday's 3-0 quarterfinal win against the Brock Badgers.

"Our game plan was to stick with what we had been doing all season because we hadn't been defeated, and it wasn't broke, so we didn't need to make too many changes," Ottawa coach Steve Johsnon said. "We decided to stay with what we had and hopefully we'd catch a break."

Ottawa goalkeeper Jennifer Budd made the saves when she had to, including a diving stop midway through the second half to keep the game, scoreless, but she wasn't overworked.

"York is a great squad, and they've got people up front who can score, but our defence is extremely strong, and I've got a lot of confidence in these girls," Budd said. "They're going to keep the majority of the tough stuff, and I just have to deal with the easy stuff."

After Joy put the Gee-Gees ahead, Ottawa midfielder Ayana Nurse had a chance to add some insurance, but she failed to convert on a breakaway. "I say (York goalkeeper Lindsay Crothers) coming out, and I tried to chip it over her, but it didn't work. There was just too much time," Nurse said. "I was in complete shock to see that much open space."

Even though the Gee-Gees will have a shot to reclaim the national title they won in 1996 and then lost in '97, Nurse said she and her teammates weren't looking any further ahead than today. "We want the (OUA conference) banner badly," Nurse said. "If you go to the nationals and you don't medal, you have nothing, so we're going all out."

The Gee-Gees had to play yesterday's game without all-star forward Isabelle Lessard, who was bothered by a pinched nerve. Lessard, who scored 12 regular season goals and one against Brock on Friday, may also miss today's final, scheduled for 11:30 a.m.

Other Ottawa players are also showing the combined effects of the regular season and playoffs. Some of them showed up for the Gee-Gees football team's game against the Concordia Stingers bearing ice packs to soothe ailing joints. 

York and Western will play for the OUA bronze medal today at 9 a.m. Tickets cost $5 for adults, $3 for students, and children under 12 are free.

Note: this article was originally published by the Ottawa Citizen on October 31, 1999. It was written by Darren Desaulniers.

NATIONALS PREVIEW: Hard-luck striker misses nationals

The University of Ottawa Gee-Gees left for Waterloo yesterday to contest their third national university women's soccer championship tournament in the past four years.

They were again without striker Isabelle Lessard. The Ontario conference all-star suffered a hip injury in the provincial quarterfinal two weeks ago, and she was just released from hospital earlier this week following surgery.

Even so, Gee-Gees head coach Steve Johnson still feels the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union only undefeated team has enough depth to replace one of the most dangerous strikers on the Canadian women's soccer scene. 

"This is so unfortunate for Isabelle and I feel so terrible for her, especially since this is her last year of university, but fortunately we have a plyer of the calibre of Liisa Jianopoulos to replace her," said Johnson whose team, ranked No. 1 in Canada, meets the University of Alberta today in the first game of the six-team national championship.

"Isabelle is a driven player and a natural goal scorer, which is such a rarity, but Liisa is a strong player who is experienced. She played on the Sir Wilfrid Laurier team which won a national championship in 1992."

It seems Lessard has been snake bitten every time the Gee-Gees have advanced to the national championships. Three years ago, when the Gee-Gees advanced to their first nationals, she couldn't play becuase she was recuperating from an operation to correct a crushed sinus. When U of O won the Canadian title a year later, she couldn't play in the final becuase of muscle cramps caused by fatigue.

Last season, Lessard was healthy for the entire season and was named the most valuable player in the Ontario conference, but the Gee-Gees were eliminated in the Ontario University Athletics tournament.

Johnson says he doesn't know how Lessard suffered her latest injury. She complained about her groin muscles tightening up after she scored the winning goal in the quarterfinal win against the Brock Badgers. The next morning she could barely walk.

Although Lessard scored 12 goals in as many games this season, Jennifer Biondi, who scored 11 goals, said Lessard brought the Gee-Gees much more than scoring touch. "She brings an attitude that we will all miss," said Biondi, who joined the Gee-Gees this season after transferring from the University of Texas at El Paso.

"She never stops running. She runs and runs. She's also so positive. She always encourages us, especially when things aren't going well."

Even without Lessard, the Gee-Gees shouldn't be short on scoring power. They set a CIAU record with 54 goals on their way to a 9-0-3 record in the regular season.

U of O also still has Deanna Saracino, who was second in scoring in the CIAU this season with 14 goals. Both Saracino and Lessard played semipro soccer last summer in the W-League.

The Gee-Gees lineup also features team captain Ayana Nurse, who was named an OUA all-star midfielder and is regarded as one of the top defenders in the conference.

Despite all this, the Gee-Gees will have their hands full with Alberta, the Canada West conference champion. "If we lose that game, we're in serious trouble," said Biondi, who scored the winning goal in the conference tournament final against Guelph.

"But, even without Isabelle, this team has a lot of confidence. We have confidence in our defence, goalkeeping, and our ability to protect a lead. We don't need a lot of goals to win."

The Gee-Gees' round-robin opponents include Alberta and Guelph. Dalhousie, McGill, and the host team, Wilfrid Laurier, make up the other pool. Each team plays two games in its respective pool. The top team in each pool advances to Sunday's final.

"Alberta will be a huge test for us," Johnson said. "We beat them 1-0 for the national title three years ago, and they beat us 1-0 in the 1997 final. I see a lot of the players back from those teams."

U of O will meet Guelph in its second round-robin game on Saturday.

Note: this article was originally published by the Ottawa Citizen on November 11, 1999. It was written by Tom Casey.