Jock talk
Disappointing start for women’s hockey
THE UNIVERSITY OF Ottawa women’s hockey team lost a pair of road games on the opening weekend of their regular season: a 6-0 defeat to the McGill Martlets on Oct. 17 and a 5-2 loss to the Concordia Stingers a day later.
In the first game against McGill, Ottawa could not defend against the Martlet attack. The Gee-Gees gave up numerous odd-man rushes and made mistakes that led to a four-goal explosion from McGill in the second period. Third-year Gees goalie Marie-Hélène Malenfant was pelted with 37 shots, stopping 31 of them. The Gees managed only 22 shots and were unable to score in the 6-0 McGill romp.
On Oct. 18, it was more of the same when the Gees played the Stingers. Concordia came out strong, scoring three unanswered goals in the first period. Ottawa finally got on the board in the second period when first-year forward Dominique Lefebvre scored the team’s first goal of the year. Second-year Gees forward Fannie Desforges lit up the lamp in the third period, but it was not enough as Ottawa fell 5-2, despite outshooting Concordia 45-26.
The Gees will next play the Montreal Carabins on Oct. 23 in Montreal before hosting the Carleton Ravens on Oct. 24 at the Sports Complex.
—Nick Muggeridge
Women’s soccer falls to familiar foe
THE QUEEN’S GAELS shut out the University of Ottawa women’s soccer team for the second time this season with a 2-0 win in Kingston on Oct. 18.
The Gee-Gees went into the game ranked third in Canada and tied for first with the Gaels in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East with a record of 10-1-2. Until this game, Ottawa’s sole loss of the season came at home to nationally sixth-ranked Queen’s on Sept. 30.
The Gees went into the game with plenty of confidence, having scored 19 goals and allowed just one in their previous four games.
That offence came to a halt against Queen’s, and the Gaels capitalized with unanswered goals from Angela Sullivan and Renee MacLellan.
“[The team] didn’t perform well,” said Gee-Gees head coach Steve Johnson in an interview with Sports Services following the match.
The loss is only Ottawa’s second of the season (10-2-2), but it drops the team down to third place in the OUA East.
The team will wrap up the regular season with a pair of road games, the first on Oct. 24 against the Ryerson Rams (3-7-4) and the next on Oct. 25 against Toronto (10-1-3).
—Katrina Medwenitsch
Trial by tournament in women’s volleyball
THE UNIVERSITY OF Ottawa women’s volleyball team was in Montreal Oct. 16–18 for the Martlet Invitational Volleyball Tournament at McGill University. The Gee-Gees played four games and finished 1-3, ending their pre-season play.
It was a challenge from the get-go as Ottawa faced the Manitoba Bisons in their first game on Oct. 16. The Bisons were ranked sixth nationally at the end of last season and that became apparent in a strong 3-0 win.
Ottawa had little time to recover, as they were set to play the St. Mary’s Huskies later that day. Ottawa won the first set 25-16, but dug themselves a hole by losing the next two. Fourth-year setter Tess Edwards then stepped up with 16 points and 29 assists, helping the Gees to win the next two sets and ultimately the match, with a final score of 3-2.
On Oct. 27, the team played a tight game—every set was decided by just two points—against the Dalhousie Tigers, which the Gees dropped 3-1.
With the losses, the Gees settled for the fifth-place game on Oct. 18 against the St. Mary Huskies once again. Ottawa won the first set 25-23 but proceeded to drop the next three, resulting in a loss that placed the team sixth in the tournament.
The Gees will begin the regular season on the road against the Ryerson Rams on Oct. 24.
—Katrina Medwenitsch
Men’s football clinches playoff berth at York
THOUGH THE SCORE was closer than expected, the nationally ninth-ranked University of Ottawa men’s football team extended their winning streak to four games on Oct. 17. Ottawa’s offence dominated in a 54-31 road victory over the York Lions (0-7).
Dual-threat third-year quarterback Brad Sinopoli trounced the York defence with three rushing touchdowns and another two scores through the air. Sinopoli completed 22 of 34 passes for 266 yards. Adding to the offensive assault was first-year running back Jordan Wilson-Ross, who rushed 26 times for 143 yards and had two touchdowns to boot.
Ottawa dominated the hapless Lions in the first half and had a seemingly insurmountable 33-10 advantage at halftime. However, a surprisingly soft Ottawa run defence brought York to within nine points of tying the game in the third quarter. Ottawa refocused in the fourth quarter, with a pair of touchdowns by Sinopoli to put the game away.
With the win, the Gee-Gees clinched a berth in the Ontario University Athletics playoffs and are still in the mix for winning home-field advantage. Ottawa closes their regular season on Oct. 24 at 1 p.m. at Frank Clair Stadium against the Windsor Lancers (2-4-1).
—Jaehoon Kim
Men’s basketball two-for-three at Redbird Classic
THE UNIVERSITY OF Ottawa men’s basketball team took to the court at McGill’s Redbird Classic tournament Oct. 16–18 for some pre-season action. The Gee-Gees defeated the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) Citadins 90-82 on Oct. 16 and beat the McGill Redmen 102-80 the following day. Ottawa fell, however, to the McMaster Marauders 95-72 on Oct. 18 to conclude the tournament. The Gees’ current pre-season record is 7-2.
Although Ottawa trailed UQAM 42-34 after one half, the Gees had a strong second half to come from behind, outscoring the Citadins 56-40. Highlights included 20 points from fifth-year guard Donnie Gibson and 31 points and 12 rebounds for fifth-year guard Josh Gibson-Bascombe.
Ottawa didn’t need to rally in the game against McGill as they rolled to a 54-39 lead by halftime and continued to dominate in the second half. Second-year guard Warren Ward racked up 23 points, while fourth-year forward Louis Gauthier added 16.
Though the Gees had a 50-40 lead at halftime against the Marauders in the final game, they let it slip through their fingers in the second half, as McMaster outscored them 45-22. The loss tainted a 35-point game from Gibson-Bascombe.
Up next, Ottawa will host the annual Jack Donohue Memorial Tournament Oct. 23-25. Their first game will be Oct. 23 against the University of Cape Breton at 8 p.m. at the Sports Complex.
—James Marcus
