Tuesday evening, St. Clair Saints Women’s soccer (5-1-1) travelled to London to take on the top ranked Fanshawe Falcons (7-0-0) and lost a heartbreaker in dramatic fashion by a final score of 5-4.
Fanshawe, who sits in first place in the OCAA West Division, is still undefeated and leads the division in goals for (37) and goals against (5).
The Falcons are ranked #2 in Ontario and #5 in Canada. The Saints are ranked #15 in Canada and #4 in Ontario.
Prior to the match Fanshawe had only allowed 1 goal in 6 games. The Saints have scored 24 goals and allowed 10 in 7 matches.
In the 6th minute of the game, Fanshawe would open the scoring. With two St. Clair defenders covering Fanshawe’s Jade Kovacevic, the Falcons striker would find a wide open Alexandria Peat, who would bury the ball past the Saints goalkeeper, giving Fanshawe the early 1-0 lead. Fanshawe’s Marisa Oliveira had a great strike in the 25th minute from just outside the box but the Saints goalkeeper turned it away.
The Falcons would go into the half leading 1-0. The Saints were outshoot 8-3 in the first half and Fanshawe held a 11-5 edge in attempted shots.
The Saints came out in the second half as the aggressor and in the 50th minute tied the game at 1-1 on a goal by Kaitlyn Austin. Just one minute later, St. Clair scored again to take the lead on a goal over the head of the Falcons goalkeeper by Kristen Melo. In the 53rd minute, St. Clair extended their lead on a second goal by Kaitlyn Austin, giving the Saints the 3-1 advantage. Fanshawe wouldn’t quit and in the 60th minute, would close the gap to one on a goal by Sheree Uyl.
The Falcons weren’t done yet and just three minutes later, after a great through ball by Selena Roberts, Kovacevic tied the game 3-3. St. Clair’s Austin would score her third of the game in the 66th minute, giving the Saints a 4-3 lead but in the 75th minute, for the second time in the match, Kovacevic would break away past the Saints defenders and tie the game.
In extra time, Kovacevic would be awarded a penalty kick after being taken down in the box. She would score her third goal of the game and Fanshawe would go on to win by a final score of 5-4. Fanshawe had 12 shots on goal compared to 8 for St. Clair in the second half while the shots attempted were even at 12.
The Saints are next in action when they travel to Sarnia to take on the Lambton Lions on Tuesday, October 11. The Lions are currently 0-5-1 on the season with their tie coming against the Saints in the first game of the season.
For all upcoming St. Clair sports check the IPM events calendar.
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