Women's soccer falls in home opener

By: William Shoukri
Humber Athletics Communications

VAUGHAN — Humber women's soccer (0-2, 7th West) lost its home opener to the Sheridan Bruins (1-1, 6th West) Wednesday evening, 1-0. It was a tight, scrappy affair that could have gone either way, but an early goal from the Bruins would be the decider. Rosie Nichols stood out for the Hawks with three shots on goal, but team play was the story for both clubs in this one.

Match Recap

Humber came out of the gates booming in this one. The pitch was tilted in their favour, and they racked up two shots on goal in the first ten minutes. Unfortunately, an untimely collision on the backline in the 13th minute would result in an easy tap-in goal for Sheridan.

Now down 1-0, Humber turned up the temperature. The Hawks dominated the remainder of the half, but Sheridan stayed solid defensively, not letting Humber get any actual high-danger scoring chances. Even then, the Hawks would amass six shots on goal in the half, five more than the Bruins. Even with the lion's share of possession, Humber would trail after 45 minutes of action.

When the teams returned from the break, the pace of play slowed considerably. Sheridan was playing a defence-first game, intent on protecting their slim lead. With play meandering in the midfield, things started to get chippy. Both teams committed multiple hard fouls, and numerous players went down with stingers.

Now, at the back end of the second half, it was obvious that the Hawks were getting frustrated and desperate. They had earned a goal that hadn't come and with the clock winding down, Humber was desperate for an equalizer.

The Hawks' offensive line started to buzz in the 90th minute. With eight minutes of injury time to work with, the Hawks knew there was still a chance. Kaitlynn Russell, Kaylese Callender, and Hayley Lewis all had chances but Sheridan keeper Kennedy Peddie kept her team in the game with three huge stops in injury time.

After more than five minutes of sustained pressure, the official blew the final whistle, solidifying the result. Even though Humber dominated on the score sheet, their offensive efforts were all for not, as Sheridan would complete the 1-0 shutout.

Match Notes

• The Hawks begin 0-2 to start the season for the first time since 2005.
• Humber is now 24-3-5 all-time against Sheridan.
• The Hawks fall to the Bruins for the first time since 2015 (9-1-2 over that span) and the first time at home since 2004.
• Humber's lone tally through two matches is its lowest offensive output since 2003.

What's Next?

Humber will face the Conestoga Condors (1-1, 3^rd West) at the Ontario Soccer Centre on September 18. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM, and you can catch all the action streamed live on Humber Sports Network.