OAKVILLE, Ont. - Needing to produce a result as the OCAA regular season enters its final week, the Sheridan Bruins women's soccer team (4-2-1 OCAA) delivered, scoring twice in the second half to blank Fanshawe 2-0.
"I liked the way that we picked up the intensity in the second half," Sheridan head coach Paul Angelini said. "In the first half we were without that, but we played smart soccer. It was a big change from the game before. After the second half began, we picked up the intensity, we started to tackle a little harder, we started to play shorter balls to set up the long ball and we spent a lot of time in the opponents third of the field."
The first 45 minutes did nothing to differentiate the two sides, as they went into the interval level at 0-0.
In the 47th minute the Lady Bruins would strike first blood, setting up a free kick about 25 yards from distance on the left wing.
Jaclyn Hart swung the ball into the area where Kaysia Williams flicked it on target and even though Fanshawe goalkeeper Julie Rovere was able to turn that attempt away, Kayla McPherson Brassington pounced on the rebound to lead 1-0.
Twenty-two minutes Sheridan would double their advantage and McPherson Brassington would complete her brace in a very similar fashion.
After a Kendra Cooper run down the right wing won the Double-Blue a corner kick, Laura Snoek played the ball in and it was McPherson Brassington who won it in the air.
Once again, Rovere was able to initially deflect the ball away from the Fanshawe goal, but after it kissed off the crossbar, McPherson Brassington was the first to loose ball and provided the finish inside the six-yard box.
Alyssa Teixeira and Monica Pugliese combined to keep the sheet clean for Sheridan, thanks in large part to three dodged bullets in the second half.
Fanshawe struck the cross bar twice in the final half hour, but Pugliese also provided a solid save, diving to her right to smother a strike from inside the 18.
The victory cemented a playoff spot for the club, but their final game of the season at Niagara (Oct. 4) will go a long way to determining where they finish in the table.
As a result, Angelini says the team will shift their focus from a physical preparation to a mental one and allowing his players to rest up with only 70 hours between games.
"I think what we've decided to do is replace a practice with a video session," he said. "Instead of physically having all the people with the little injuries aggravate those injuries, we'll watch some tape and take it from there."
Source: Sheridan College