Courtesy: Stephen KassimThe Rams are coming off a strong game where they held the No. 1 team in the country, the Ottawa Gee-Gees, scoreless through 72 minutes. The 1-0 loss was a drastic improvement from the 6-0 loss at the start of the year and Ryerson is a confident group moving forward.
The next five days should help clarify the playoff picture for several east division teams. As it stands, Ryerson holds down eighth place with their 1-8-1 record and four points. Trent sits just ahead in seventh with a 2-7-1 record and seven points while RMC claims the sixth and final playoff spot with a 3-7-0 record and nine points.
With victories over both Trent and RMC, the Rams could leapfrog right into the sixth position and hold a playoff spot heading into the last two weeks of play.
In the first meeting between Ryerson and Trent, Elyse Hanec (Calgary, Alta.) gave the Rams a 1-0 lead early in the match but Trent responded to take a 2-1 victory. Ryerson was not pleased with the result and felt like they gave up points in the standings they shouldn't have. The Rams will be looking to take Wednesday's match and gain momentum heading into the weekend.
Midfielder Danielle Curti (Richmond Hill, Ont.) is the only Excalibur with multiple goals scored as she leads the team with two. Trent has surrendered the second most goals in the east division and the Rams will look to take advantage of that and push their offensive attack.
Following Wednesday's game Ryerson takes a weekend trip to Kingston. First up is the RMC Paladins on Saturday afternoon. The Paladins have three wins to their name but is the only team Ryerson has defeated so far this season.
In the first meeting, Ryerson held a 1-0 lead into the final minutes of the game when Jocelyn Coe (Cobourg, Ont.) tied the game in the 89th minute. Late heroics from Ryerson's Leah Semeniuk (Whitby, Ont.) secured the Rams a victory. This time around Ryerson will not want to leave things until the last minute and hope to push the tempo while continuing their strong defensive pressure.
The Rams close out their busy week with a match against the Queen's Gaels on Sunday afternoon. The Gaels are currently ranked No. 7 in the country with their 7-1-2 record. The last time these teams met the Gaels were ranked No. 1 so the Rams know that despite their drop in rankings, Queen's is still a formidable opponent.
Queen's tallied four goals for a 4-0 victory in the first meeting, with goals coming from four different sources. The Gaels' Jackie Tessier (Winnipeg, Man.) is second in OUA scoring and leads the squad with ten goals in eight games played this year. The fourth year striker sat out the last time these teams met. Teammate Breanna Burton (Ottawa, Ont.) sits tied for fourth in scoring with six goals.
Goals have been hard to come by against Queen's as they have only surrendered six goals against on the year. With that in mind, Ryerson's focus will be on keeping the Gaels off the scoreboard to try and scratch out a draw against one of the top OUA teams.
Ryerson will take the field on Wednesday evening against Trent at 6:00 p.m. Saturday's game against RMC is set for 1:00 p.m. at the Navy Bay Soccer Fields while the Rams battle Queen's at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.
