By: Ryan Miller
The crisp air and changing leaves signal one thing - playoff Soccer is here! With a thrilling 3-1 victory over the Durham Lords in their final regular season game, the Centennial Colts women's soccer team finished with a 9-0-1 record in the OCAA, tying with the Seneca Sting for top spot in the conference. Although Seneca claimed the top overall seed by edging out the Colts on aggregate score, the Colts earned the second seed - an impressive first in program history.
This achievement guarantees the Colts home-field advantage for at least two playoff matches, provided they win the first round.
Tonight, the Colts will host the #7 seed, the St. Lawrence Surge, at 6:00 PM on the Colts Pitch at Progress Campus. In their previous encounter, which was the Colts' home opener, they beat the Surge in an 8-0 win. Despite their past success, the Colts are not taking any chances. Their focus remains squarely on winning a championship, which means approaching each game with full intensity and respect for the opposition.
In a brief conversation in the Athletic and Wellness Centre hallways earlier today, Colts forward Kyry Rose discussed the challenge of maintaining focus when facing teams they've soundly defeated in the past. "Are we going to play our best and compete? Absolutely. The biggest challenge for us will be to keep the same intensity from the first whistle to the last" she explains. "Most of the top teams we've played, match our energy and intensity and it brings the best out of us, but we haven't experienced that same intensity from St. Lawrence. This game will be about motivating each other and reminding ourselves of the ultimate goal. We want to win, which means giving St. Lawrence our absolute best. Coach Rich keeps us grounded, and he'll make changes to the lineup and call us out if he doesn't see full focus and effort."
If the Colts win tonight, they'll advance to face the winner of the Niagara Knights and Humber Hawks matchup.
Come out to support the Colts in person tonight at 6:00 PM, but if you can't make tonight's match, catch us live on Youtube, search for Coltsnet and you can find all our live streams!
Photo C/O : James Phillip