HAMILTON, Ont. – Laurier's women's soccer season came to a heartbreaking end in Hamilton on Friday night as the McMaster Marauders scored in injury and extra time to escape with a 2-1 win at Ron Joyce Stadium in their first-round playoff match-up.
Having met once this season (also a McMaster victory in September), the #3-seed Marauders and #6-seed Golden Hawks were going head-to-head in the OUA playoffs for the first time since 2017.
Throughout an evenly played first half, both squads were aggressive and assertive on the ball, resulting in many fouls and shots for each team; the Golden Hawks with seven and the Mauraders with five by the end of the half.
The Golden Hawks' defence stood out in the first 45 minutes, defending several set plays from the Marauders' offence. This included corner and free kicks, and breakout plays. Goalkeeper
Mya Brodrecht and centre-back
Tamara Lisser were influential in reading and responding to these plays.
The purple and gold entered the second half with a visible new level of determination, dominating play over the Marauders.
Their hard work paid off in the 57th minute when Sam Murphy, the team's leading scorer during the regular season, made it a 1-0 game.
Throughout, the Golden Hawks played a high press defence, clearing any long passes from the McMaster offence with pace and cutting down any shooting opportunities.
The Golden Hawks continued to dominate throughout much of the game. In the last minutes of injury time, McMaster's Jade Abreo scored on a free kick from about 30 yards out to tie the game and send it to extra time.
The first overtime period was a true battle. Both teams put their best foot forward as they fought for every ball.
The Golden Hawks' defence continued to dominate, allowing very few shots to get through.
During the second half of extra time, it was clear that both teams were starting to run out of gas, resulting in fouls, sloppy plays on both sides and yellow cards for McMaster's Alena Spehar and Laurier's Sam Murphy.
The Golden Hawks' fate was sealed in the 28th minute of extra time when McMaster's Lorena Morcone got her head on a corner kick, which was mishandled in the Laurier crease and rolled into the goal.
With Laurier's season done, McMaster advances to an OUA quarterfinals draw against the Guelph Gryphons.
Top Performers
Laurier Golden Hawks
Sam Murphy
Murphy is always a stand-out player, but during the match against the Marauders, there seemed to be an extra spark from the co-captain. Chasing every through ball and constantly putting herself in the right spot, she showed skill and determination throughout the match.
McMaster Marauders
Bryanna Caldwell
Caldwell excelled at reading the pitch and the ball throughout. She controlled the play on the pitch and had a hand in plays running through the Marauders offence.
