By: Teru Ikeda and Kajan Thiruthanikasalam
SCARBOROUGH, ONT. - On a beautiful Friday evening at Progress Turf Field, the Centennial Colts women's soccer team made their way to the pitch, with their preseason debut against a formidable opponent from the NJCAA, the Genesee Cougars.
The result for Centennial was just like how the weather was throughout the game-- it was a beautiful sight to behold.
An offensive explosion in the second half powered the host Colts to a 4-0 victory in front of their fans against the Cougars. Joia Francis scored a pair of goals (48", 62") while Nailah Rowe had a goal (29") and an assist for Centennial.
It was midfielder Shianne Carrington, however, who earned Colts head coach Diarmuid O'Connor's highest praise, as her work on defense and midfield provided a nice balance to the constant offensive pressure that the Colts put on its opponents.
"She was the Player of the Game," O'Connor said. "She surprised me the most… had a lot more speed than I expected."
Rowe's work with the ball throughout the game, which included sending a defender to the ground with a move, had her coach in awe.
"When she had the ball, she had a smirk on her face like she was going to do something special," O'Connor said.
Genesee came off a season in which they were Region III Champions last year. Meanwhile, Centennial was coming off a season in which they were winless until the last two games of the regular season.
Last night, however, saw both teams reverse its fortunes. Centennial was on the offensive throughout much of the game while Genessee struggled to generate its own and stop the impressive attack and speed from the Colts' rookies.
"The word was (that) we had speed. And it turns out, we had speed," O'Connor said of the youth and athleticism on his squad. "So I'm delighted that we actually have that."
The scoring opened up for Centennial in the 29th minute when Rowe dispossessed the Cougars defender of the ball and promptly fired a right-footed strike just inside the box past the goalkeeper. It was the lone goal scored in the half for both teams.
In the 48th minute, Francis extended the Colts' lead to two on a semi-breakaway after a nice thru pass from Rowe, as she fired a low left-footed strike on the bottom left corner. Francis then made it 3-0 as she fired another left-footed strike in the box to the bottom left corner.
Assistant coach Jessica Friend wrapped up the scoring in the 62nd minute with a right footed strike but the Colts threatened throughout the game with numerous chances and the score would have been higher had it not been for some nice saves from the opposing goalie.
"We recognize we're in a tough league with tough players and tough teams," O'Connor says about the team's expectations. "Our goal is to try to be one of the top teams to make the playoffs at the end of it all."
The statement victory for this young Colts team is a great start towards that goal. The Lady Colts head up north this upcoming weekend to face off against Royal Military College in Kingston on Friday, August 23 before playing the Loyalist Lancers on Sunday, August 25 in Belleville.
Photos from Friday night's game, taken by Colts Media photographer Nicole Ventura, can be viewed in the following link: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmGcY1zk