Tommies Bested by Wolves in CCAA Quarterfinal

The St. Thomas University Tommies were bested 5-0 by the Grand Prairie Regional College Wolves in the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association Women's Soccer quarterfinal Wednesday morning in Halifax.

Despite the result, Tommies head coach Michelle DeCourcey said she was pleased with her team's effort.

"I don't think the girls gave up on each other and they put in a solid effort," she said. "It just took a little bit of adjusting on our end and when we figured it out it was a little too late."

The Wolves put pressure on the Tommies and hedged the play in their zone for much of the first half. The Grand Prairie squad outshot the Tommies in the opening frame, and eventually capitalized off a misplay in STU's end for a 1-0 lead which they held until halftime.

The Wolves increased their lead five minutes into the second half, netting the first of four unanswered goals. Minutes later, they buried a shot to the bottom corner off a scramble in front of Tommies' keeper Mary Cronin.

The Tommies settled in and made their way into the Wolves' end multiple times in the half—with Nikita McCartney, Louisa Hughes, and Sarah Hickman generating solid scoring opportunities—but weren't able to find the back of the net.

"The girls worked hard to move the ball forward in the second half and we did have some good opportunities, which was great," DeCourcey said. "We needed to push forward offensively from the beginning. We sat back a little too much."

The Wolves added two more markers to secure the 5-0 win and a trip to the national semi-final.

Shelby Henley was named the Wolves' Player of the Game, while Kaleigh Roberts earned the honour for the Tommies.

The Tommies will face the Algonquin Thunder, who fell to the Champlain Cavaliers in penalty kicks, in the bronze-medal qualifier tomorrow at 10:00 am.