Laurier Athletics - Waterloo Campus

WATERLOO, Ont. - Jessica Breda, Ashley Greco and Sophia Morgan each scored as the Laurier Golden Hawks defeated the Waterloo Warriors 3-1 on Thursday evening in the Battle of Waterloo.

The Golden Hawks wasted little time opening the scoring. In the second minute, Genevieve Morgan sent a lead pass down the left side to Breda, who drove into the penalty area and slipped a shot past Waterloo goalkeeper Maeve Hagarty into the right side of the net. 

Laurier maintained pressure with several early corners, while the Warriors created their own chances. Alexandria Chuong headed the ball wide in the 13th minute before Tayler Schade sent a shot just over the crossbar five minutes later. 

The Golden Hawks continued to threaten midway through the half, forcing Hagarty to save a hard shot from Annick Lariviere in the 24th minute. Vanessa Dias then received a ball from a Greco free kick in the 27th minute, but she sent her attempt high and wide of the net. 

At the other end, Taya Johnson helped protect the lead with a great defensive play inside Laurier's penalty area in the 33rd minute. Goalkeeper Mya Brodrecht handled a Waterloo corner in the 40th before Ceci Mejia struck the crossbar four minutes later. 

Laurier carried its 1-0 advantage into halftime. Both teams recorded five shots in the opening half, with the Golden Hawks holding a 3-1 edge in shots on goal and a 4-1 advantage in corners. 

The Golden Hawks continued to create chances after the break. Kayla Merkley tested Hagarty twice from distance, while Lariviere's cross found Greco in the 54th minute for an attempt that sailed high. Hagarty made another save on Lariviere in the 58th to keep Waterloo within one. 

Brodrecht answered with a key stop of her own in the 69th minute, denying Kyra Chan's header following a Warriors corner. 

Laurier then broke the game open with two goals in three minutes. Greco found space while attacking into the Waterloo penalty area and placed a shot into the top-left corner in the 71st minute to double the lead. In the 73rd, Greco's corner found Sophia Morgan, who hammered the ball home to put the Golden Hawks ahead 3-0. 

Waterloo grabbed a goal in the 87th minute on an Aya Naamani penalty kick.

The victory extended Laurier's unbeaten run against its crosstown rival to 12 meetings. 

Laurier head coach Barry MacLean's feedback on the team's performance after the game was a bit of tough love.

"I thought we were really flat in the first half; we looked kind of legless, tired…We scored a goal very early which was great, because Waterloo had a lot of the ball in the first half…but in the second half I thought we had a lot more energy and we created more chances.

"Overall I'm super happy with three points, but I don't think this was our best game." 

Laurier's goalkeeper, Mya Brodrecht, with six saves and most of them through contact, was very proud of the way the team played against their in-city rivals.

"I love when we play at home against them (Waterloo Warriors); the atmosphere is always great, and it's just a good way to go into the near end of the season and get three points, and now we've got Saturday." 

Laurier moves to 4-2-3 on the season, good for sole possession of fourth place in the OUA West at 15 points heading into their final three regular season matches.

Up Next

The Golden Hawks travel to London to face the Western Mustangs (2-5-2) at Western Alumni Stadium on Saturday, October 10th.  

Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
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