Women's Soccer: Weekend wrap-up

It was all a little predictable on the first full weekend of women's soccer across the country.

The good teams won their games. The not-so-good teams were generally not-so-good. Number one ranked Queen's and number three Montreal both put in some poundings. Five-year Fraser Valley aren't surprising anyone this year, but they're still winning.

In RSEQ, the Carabins are 2-0-0, beating UQAM 2-0 and destroying Bishop's 6-0. Véronique Maranda scored twice against Bishop's and set up Émilie Chamard for another. Isabelle Dumais, who will probably get more playing time with the departure of striker Veronique Laverdiere, also had an active weekend.

McGill are keeping Montreal honest with two wins of their own on opening weekend, beating the hapless Gaiters 2-0 thanks to Rebecca Green and Kathleen Wakeling's combination. They also edged UQAM 1-0.

Laval had a rougher start to the season, splitting their opening weekend, including a loss to to Sherbrooke. The Vert et Or also have six points.

In the west, the University of Fraser Valley are showing that their shock run to a national bronze medal might only be a sign of things to come. Rookie Paige Friesen nodded in her first goal. Dariann Kloot also scored her first this weekend.

Trinity Western, whose season preview discusses such subjects as pride at their number five national ranking, their large number of returning stars, and strong motivation after a disastrous end to 2010, followed up their bold claims by losing 1-0 to UBC to start the season. Rachel Sawer smashed a shot into the top corner of Kristen Funk's goal and then the Spartans decided to try and score, taking 12 shots in the final 25 minutes. TWU didn't dress either Nikki Wright or Tessa Meyer for the game. To read quotes of Graham Roxburgh sounding frustrated, check the game re-cap here.


The AUS threw a couple of surprises at into a hum-drum weekend. UPEI, who came out of nowhere last year, look like the real deal. Adding Maria Scichilone to their roster looks like a real good move for them, and she scored the first goal in the Panthers' 2-1 win over Dalhousie on Saturday.

Cape Breton beat Acadia this weekend on goals by Erika Lannon and rookie Karolyne Blaine. It could have been 3-0, but for Robyn McNeill hitting the bar. Acadia goalkeeper Leisha Doyle saw a lot of leather from arguably the best offensive team in AUS.

Dalhousie, depsite Jack Hutchison admitting they're young and rebuilding, did some attacking of their own Sunday afternoon. It took 45 minutes to crack Robin Bessemer's goal, but after Joanna Blodgett curled a shot into the bottom corner, the Tigers went to town. Rieka Santilli blazed a shot past Bessemer shortly after half-time and was then denied one-on-one two minutes later. New full-back Megan Willox drove in a third, and Ontario high-school scoring machine Doriana Homerski tallied the first of what could be a few in AUS.

We saved the OUA teams until last because you probably don't need us to tell you who won. Queen's and Laurier look very comfortable—again—after a couple of weekends.

After opening their season by toying with Carleton, the Gaels beat Ottawa 1-0 and lowly Trent 2-1. Not quite spectacular, but with fifth-year Kelli Chamberlain paired with Jacqueline Tessier up front, it's hard to keep them off the board.

Laurier have one of the most experienced teams in the country, returning almost all of their not-quite-CIS-gold-medal roster from last year. They still don't have a bona fide striker, though Krista Cellucci does have three goals. That was the main problem they ran into last year against top teams. They're scoring fairly freely against their OUA West competition in Western, Windsor and York, but they need to be tested against CIS-level opposition.
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