The Gaels overpowered the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks 4-0 on Friday afternoon at Richardson Stadium for their last home game of the regular season. The team honored their seven graduating players for senior's night: Erin Hedgcock (Commerce), Izzy Pineda (Political Studies), Lily Goss (Kinesiology), Seema Sakran (Kinesiology), Madinah Assaf (Economics), Mattson Strickler (Concurrent Education), and Kendra Couto (Mechanical Engineering). The graduating players showed their depth of experience by scoring three of the team's four goals.
In the first half of the game, Queen's held possession well, making strong passes and receptions to evade the Ontario Tech defense. Despite holding possession for the majority of the half, the Gaels struggled to generate scoring opportunities. The home team was able to generate nine shots on goal and six corners, whereas the Ridgebacks had no shots or corners in the first 45 minutes. Queen's fought hard and came out on top in the one-on-one battles, winning the 50/50 balls. In spite of this, the teams remained scoreless going into the second half.
The Gaels were able to convert their scoring opportunities into goals in the second half of the game, elating the home bench. In the 53-minute of play, co-captain and fifth year Strickler scored the first goal of the game. Four minutes later, Strickler scored their second goal of the game with a low shot to the far corner of the net, bringing the Gaels a 2-0 lead. The Queen's graduating players put on a great display of their experience and composure, with fourth year Sakran scoring in the 70th minute from the 25-yard line. However, Ontario Tech started to generate small bursts of offensive momentum in the second half, coming away with a few shots on goal. Regardless, the home team continued rolling with first year Victoria Hawkins (Kinesiology) scoring in the 88th minute of play. The Gaels closed out the game with a 4-0 win over the Ridgebacks.
Looking forward, the Gaels will play the Carleton Ravens on the road on October 12th. Adding to their win column, Queen's improves their regular season record to 7-2-1.
