WATERLOO, Ont. – On a rainy Sunday afternoon, the Laurier Golden Hawks opened their 2026 season with a 4-2 win over the Windsor Lancers at Ansley Alumni Field, powered by two second-half goals from rookie forward
Aaliyah Spence.
The two sides traded chances throughout an evenly contested opening half, but Laurier struck first in the 10th minute. Captain
Ashley Greco stole the ball and quickly found forward
Annick Lariviere, who finished into the top-left corner to put the Golden Hawks ahead 1-0.
Windsor responded in the 16th minute when Michaela Marenchin delivered an accurate cross to Olivia Corazza, who levelled the match at 1-1.
Laurier regained the advantage after forward
Jessica Breda drew a foul in the 19th minute. Greco saw the opportunity and didn't look back as she stepped up for the free kick and found the top-left corner impressively, restoring the Golden Hawks' lead at 2-1.
The resilient Lancers answered again just before halftime, with Corazza scoring her second of the afternoon in the 43rd minute to send the teams into the break tied 2-2.
As the pouring rain returned to begin the second half, Laurier quickly broke the deadlock. Having just stepped on the pitch three minutes earlier as a substitution, Kitchener native Spence received a beautiful assist from Greco and found the back of the net in the 49th minute for her first career OUA goal.
Laurier's goalkeeper
Mya Brodrecht helped preserve the 3-2 lead with a key stop in the 57th minute before making another one in the 63rd.
Two minutes later, Laurier added some insurance. Breda sent a cross into the penalty area that deflected off a Windsor defender before falling to Spence, who scored her second of the match, extending it to a 4-2 Laurier lead.
The Golden Hawks held Windsor off the scoresheet the rest of the way thanks to their goalkeeper Brodrecht to secure a victory in front of a soggy but energetic crowd.
After the game, a very pleased head coach,
Barry MacLean, said, "It was spectacular in that we scored four goals."
"I love that the goals were warranted. They were great goals."
"Defensively, we've got a little bit of work to do. We gave up two goals, but we also gave up a lot of chances, and we want to correct some of that. But overall, a very good performance against a really good team."
When asked about Spence's two-goal debut, MacLean had high praise.
"She's going to be an offensive force."
When asked about her own performance, Spence humbly credited her teammates.
"The team has been putting in tremendous hard work to be together, to have good team chemistry, and I can only thank them, because I wouldn't have been able to score without them," she said.
Up Next:
The Laurier Golden Hawks (1-0) take on the Algoma Thunderbirds (0-2) on the road at Superior Heights Turf Field in Sault Ste. Marie on Saturday, September 5th to begin a back-to-back weekend of action.
Kickoff is at 1:00 PM
