OAKVILLE, Ont. - The Sheridan Bruins women's soccer team (5-2-1 OCAA) got goals in the first five minutes of the game and the last five minutes of the first half, on their way to a 3-1 win over Lambton in the OCAA qualifier playoff.
"The first half was outstanding, the second half not so much," Sheridan assistant coach Nadene Boothe said. "But we got the job done and that's what matters."
It was a flying start for the Double-Blue, as they found the back of the net in the fourth minute.
Kendra Cooper crossed a ball off the right wing into the area and Kayla McPherson-Brassington was able to head it into the lower right corner.
Cooper had a pair of good chances herself in the following minutes, but both attempts at goal were just wide of the mark.
The Lady Bruins were able to double their lead prior to the half though, with a 42nd minute strike that was very similar to the first.
Cooper once again played the ball into the Lambton box where it found Kaysia Williams for the header finish.
Williams nearly added a second tally just prior to the half, getting a look at goal 10 yards out, but the Lambton keeper made a nice lunging save on the short-side attempt.
Perhaps given a boost by a few dodged bullets, Lambton began to put more pressure on the Sheridan back-line and were rewarded at the hour mark, to cut the margin in half.
That would be short-lived however, as McPherson-Brassington would complete her brace five minutes later, winning a race to the ball in a goal-mouth scramble and putting it away.
The Lady Bruins now advance to the OCAA quarter-final and will make the trip to Ottawa to take on Algonquin.
Boothe says a big part of their preparation will be to level out some of the peaks and valleys in their play and to deliver a whistle-to-whistle performance.
"We'll definitely try and keep the focus, keep the intensity," she said. "We're trying to work on maintaining our intensity for 90 minutes instead of intensity in spurts. Other than that we just need to stay focused and stay healthy."
Source: Sheridan College