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Post season not in the cards for Lakers soccer teams

Lakers men and women dumped by Ridgebacks
W SOC Vs OUIT Oct 22 2017 Brian Doherty Photo (19)
Lakers women in action against the Ridgebacks. Photo by Brian Doherty.
 

In an emotional season finale, the Nipissing Lakers women’s soccer team hung tough with the undefeated UOIT Ridgebacks, but fell short in the end.

 

After a pre-game ceremony where the Lakers honoured five senior student-athletes, the game got underway and it was the Ridgebacks who struck first.

Just a minute into the game, UOIT took the lead.

 

They went up 2-0 seven minutes later before the Lakers answered and got themselves back into the game.

 

Andrea Young capped off a strong season, as she scored her 10th goal of the year after she tapped home a pretty pass from Kristen Farkas.

 

Unfortunately, that was as close as the Lakers would get.

 

UOIT made it 3-1 at the 27-minute mark and put the game out of reach just two minutes later, taking a 4-1 lead into halftime.

 

They added a goal in the second half, in the 69th minute to seal the 5-1 victory.

 

Nipissing fought hard for the full 90, but it wasn’t enough against the OUA’s top team.

 

That concludes the 2017 OUA season for the Lakers, who will come up short of a post-season spot in the East Division.

 
Lakers men blanked in season finale
 

It was a bittersweet end to the 2017 OUA season for the Nipissing Lakers men’s soccer team, as they took on UOIT Sunday afternoon.

 

The Lakers honoured two graduating senior players prior to the game and despite a strong defensive effort, they fell short, losing 2-0 to the UOIT Ridgebacks.

 

Just two goals through 90 minutes were enough for the Ridgebacks, who scored at the 59-minute mark and secured the win with another goal in the 70th minute.

 

The Lakers pressured throughout the game, but were unable to get a clean look or a clean shot and couldn’t close the small gap created with the goal 14 minutes into the second half.

 

Another chance 11 minutes later came up for UOIT after a promising attack by the Lakers.

 

A strong corner by Deven Doodnath and some pressure in the UOIT crease didn’t result in any goals and on the counter-attack, the Ridgebacks made no mistake by adding to their lead.

 

Nipissing fell short of the playoffs and will begin plans for the 2018 season, where they hope to advance back to the OUA post-season.