Lakers weekend soccer action

The Lakers soccer teams faced RMC and Queen’s this past weekend, with the women’s team netting a pair of ties and the men’s team picking up a win and a loss.Read all about it!Women’s recapDorval provides late game heroics for LakersThe Nipissing Lakers women’s soccer team, playing on home soil for the first time since September 4, needed a furious late game comeback to draw even with the RMC Paladins 2-2, earning an important and hard-fought point.
The start was not what the Lakers were looking for as RMC applied strong pressure right off the bat by pouncing on a loose ball in the midfield and generating a good scoring chance that sailed just over the cross bar.
The Paladins were able to find the mark first as Lisa Udegbunam was the recipient of a lovely through ball and she made no mistake, tucking the shot past sprawling Lakers keeper Carlee Bennard.
Gradually, the Lakers started to take over the possession game; however, chance after chance seemed to sail high and wide.
With half time approaching, RMC moved the ball up-field and a scramble ensued. The ball ricocheted around several times before landing at Udegbunam’s feet. She made the most of her opportunity by striking a terrific ball in the top right corner, putting RMC up 2-0 at half.
Early in the second half both teams exchanged good scoring opportunities,with Bennard coming up big for the Lakers with a key save and the RMC defensive core sweeping away the several corner kicks the Lakers generated.
The Lakers offence was finally rewarded as Ashley Poirier scored her first goal of the season.
With the clock and odds against them, the Lakers mounted one last charge as injury time was about to run out. The ball was moved forward and after a mad scramble in front of the net, Sara Dorval found the ball, side stepped a defender and fired a shot that blew by a shocked RMC keeper.
Just 30 seconds later it was all over, as the referee blew his whistle to end the game. The Lakers regular season record is now 1-2-2 while RMC sits at 0-4-1.Bennard backstops Lakers to tie against Queen’s
Sunday’s game showed that the Lakers women’s soccer team enjoys a flare for the dramatics as once again a late goal stunned the opposition, in this case the Queen’s Gaels, currently ranked second in the CIS.
It was the Gaels that got off to a quick start as Monique Czazkowski made a quick run down the left flank and made a perfect cross to Brittany Almeida who then fired a shot past Lakers keeper Carlee Bennard who made a valiant diving effort. 
The Lakers got their best chance of the first half in the 17th minute when two free kicks in a row were awarded. On the second attempt, Renee Clarke fired a great shot that hit the cross bar and bounced out of harm’s way.
A short time later the referee made a controversial decision to overturn what he had originally ruled a Gaels’ goal.  To his credit, he consulted the side-line official and reversed his initial decision which by all accounts was the correct call. 
Bennard would keep the Lakers within striking distance, making several key saves to keep the score 1-0 for Queen’s at half.
The Gaels applied strong pressure just minutes into the second half and Bennard made some quality stops to once again keep the high powered Queen’s offence off the board. 
With seven minutes remaining in the game it appeared that the Gaels would get their second goal as Czazkowski ran past her defender and chipped the ball over a charging Bennard; however, defender Claire Majid made an incredible play to kick the ball away just before it crossed the goal line. This was one of several key clearings by the Lakers defence throughout the match.
The Lakers would then get the break they were looking for as a corner kick by the Lakers was headed to Clarke who turned and fired a shot that was originally blocked by the Gaels defence; however, she neatly collected the rebound and fired a high shot that beat the Queen’s keeper to even the game.
Queen’s would have several chances late in the game, but the Lakers defence stood tall to preserve the 1-1 draw.
The Lakers now have a 1-2-3 regular season record while Queen’s sits at 4-0-2.
The Lakers will be back in action Saturday as they host the Ottawa Gee Gees at noon.Men’srecapTignanelli plays spoiler as Lakers top RMC
The Lakers men’s soccer team would not be denied on this day as North Bay’s own Darius Tignanelli picked a great time to score his first OUA goal, pacing the Lakers to a 1-0 victory over the visiting RMC Paladins.
Both teams started the game with a heavy emphasis on defence.  As the first half wore on, the Lakers were able to create some opportunities with the best coming as Brendan TeBrake fired a free kick that sailed just over the cross bar.
RMC would get a quality chance right before the end of half as the ball was headed from a distance, forcing Lakers keeper Grainger Munro to leap and direct the ball over the cross bar.
The first half ended in a scoreless draw.
Early in the second half, Tignanelli was sent in on a partial break on the right flank and fired a shot that hit the charging RMC keeper and deflected out of harm’s way. This gave the Lakers momentum and confidence and they began to win the possession game.
Although scoring chances were generated, nothing materialized for either team and as the minutes ticked away it seemed as though the match would end in a draw. Cue the dramatics: In the 89th minute, the Lakers collected a rather innocent looking turn over at midfield that was quickly passed up field, followed with a perfect through ball for Tignanelli who beat his defenders to the ball and blasted a shot past the RMC keeper.
It was a dramatic end to the game, appropriate given the turn of events witnessed in the women’s game only hours earlier.
With the win the Lakers improve to 2-3-0 and currently sit in forth in the OUA East division while RMC drops to 1-2-0.Gaels blank Lakers
On Sunday, the men’s soccer team was blanked 3-0 by the visiting Queen’s Gaels on a rainy afternoon at the Steve Omischl sports complex.
The Lakers were looking to sustain some momentum knowing that it would not be easy against a skilled opponent like Queen’s. It did not take long for Queen’s to get a quality scoring chance as Oliver Coren directed a dangerous free quick that Lakers keeper Grainger Munro directed over the cross bar with a nice diving save.
Yesterday’s hero Darius Tignanelli made a nifty move as he stopped the ball with his chest and made a quick pass to teammate Neil VanDeWalle who fired a quick shot from just outside the 18 yard box that went wide right.
The Lakers best chance came minutes later as Jean-Michel Paulin made a run down the left flank and fired a shot at the Queen’s keeper who couldn’t corral the rebound. Paulin then ran to the rebound and crossed a perfect ball to the opposite corner in which Tignanelli slid to try to direct the ball but was a half second too late as the ball passed him and went wide of the net.
In the 43rd minute, Queen’s found the back of the Laker’s net as they were awarded a free kick that deflected off the Laker wall and changed direction past a helpless Munro.
The half ended with the Gaels leading 1-0.
In the second half, both teams exchanged some chances but the keepers were the difference making some quality saves.
The game to that point yielded very little in terms of drama. All that changed at the 84th minute when Queen’s took the ball up-field and Chris Wellsman made a terrific shot from the top of the 18 yard box to make it 2-0.
With the Lakers down two goals, the team pressed forward and were awarded a penalty kick when a Laker player was fouled in the box. With the opportunity to bring the game within one goal VanDeWalle stepped up and fired a shot; however, he missed high and right.
The Gaels sealed the victory in the 89th minute when the ball was sent through and Tommy Hong chipped the ball over a charging Munro to put the game out of reach.
The Lakers record now drops to 2-4-0 while Queen’s improves to 2-1-1.
The Lakers will be back in action Sunday as they host the Carleton Ravens at 2:15 pm.