Penalty-kick goal gives Union win in Centennial Bowl debut
GUELPH – Guelph Union snapped a two-game losing streak in League1 Ontario Women’s Premier soccer play Tuesday when they won their Centennial Bowl debut.
A goal by Sydney VanderHoef on a penalty kick as regulation time expired gave Union a 2-1 win over Unionville Milliken SC.
Guelph Union 2 Unionville Milliken SC 1
“Sometimes good teams find a way to win,” Union coach Ivan Joseph said. “Ugly or pretty, we’ll take them all. And I thought the second half was a better showing. It’s our first time on that field, the grass was sticky. We just didn’t do the job we needed to do, but I’m happy with the result.
“We were the better team the second half. We weren’t the first half, but we were the better team (the second half). We’ve got some work to do. Some of our players didn’t show up to play today.”
Union never trailed in the game as Sasha Marikano connected for the opening goal on a shot from close in four minutes into the match.
Unionville Milliken pulled even in first half stoppage time on a goal by Miya Clavijo-Grant.
Libby Brenneman picked up the win in net for the locals.
Union did get a relatively late start to preseason training as the franchise was in danger of folding before it was obtained by Guelph United FC early this year. The uncertainty of the team’s future led some of the top players from the previous two seasons to join other squads in the league.
“We’re much better than we were three weeks ago, but the ceiling is high,” Joseph said. “There’s lots of talent on this team. We can do better.”
The win leaves Union in a tie for 10th in the 19-team league with a 2-3-0 record, same as Blue Devils of Oakville and Simcoe County Rovers. St. Catharines Roma is at 2-4-0 while Unionville Milliken falls to 1-4-0.
The league is to split into two divisions next year for relegation/promotion play. Plans are for 12 teams to stay in the Premier division and the others to go in the Championship division.
“The goal is to make sure that we stay in the top level of League1 and that’s only going to happen if we win the games we’re supposed to win. And this is one of those games that we’re supposed to win,” Joseph said. “You know, in my perfect world, this is a 3-1 or 4-1 game, but you know what? That’s okay. We’ve got to take our opportunities when they’re here.”
Next up for Union is a rescheduled away game against BVB IA Waterloo (4-2-0) Sunday at 2:30 p.m. The locals will have the weird feeling of being the visiting team on their home field as the game is to be played at the Centennial Bowl.
- Guelph Sports Journal
Penalty-kick goal gives Union win in Centennial Bowl debut
GUELPH – Guelph Union snapped a two-game losing streak in League1 Ontario Women’s Premier soccer play Tuesday when they won their Centennial Bowl debut.
A goal by Sydney VanderHoef on a penalty kick as regulation time expired gave Union a 2-1 win over Unionville Milliken SC.
Guelph Union 2
Unionville Milliken SC 1
“Sometimes good teams find a way to win,” Union coach Ivan Joseph said. “Ugly or pretty, we’ll take them all. And I thought the second half was a better showing. It’s our first time on that field, the grass was sticky. We just didn’t do the job we needed to do, but I’m happy with the result.
“We were the better team the second half. We weren’t the first half, but we were the better team (the second half). We’ve got some work to do. Some of our players didn’t show up to play today.”
Union never trailed in the game as Sasha Marikano connected for the opening goal on a shot from close in four minutes into the match.
Unionville Milliken pulled even in first half stoppage time on a goal by Miya Clavijo-Grant.
Libby Brenneman picked up the win in net for the locals.
Union did get a relatively late start to preseason training as the franchise was in danger of folding before it was obtained by Guelph United FC early this year. The uncertainty of the team’s future led some of the top players from the previous two seasons to join other squads in the league.
“We’re much better than we were three weeks ago, but the ceiling is high,” Joseph said. “There’s lots of talent on this team. We can do better.”
The win leaves Union in a tie for 10th in the 19-team league with a 2-3-0 record, same as Blue Devils of Oakville and Simcoe County Rovers. St. Catharines Roma is at 2-4-0 while Unionville Milliken falls to 1-4-0.
The league is to split into two divisions next year for relegation/promotion play. Plans are for 12 teams to stay in the Premier division and the others to go in the Championship division.
“The goal is to make sure that we stay in the top level of League1 and that’s only going to happen if we win the games we’re supposed to win. And this is one of those games that we’re supposed to win,” Joseph said. “You know, in my perfect world, this is a 3-1 or 4-1 game, but you know what? That’s okay. We’ve got to take our opportunities when they’re here.”
Next up for Union is a rescheduled away game against BVB IA Waterloo (4-2-0) Sunday at 2:30 p.m. The locals will have the weird feeling of being the visiting team on their home field as the game is to be played at the Centennial Bowl.
- Guelph Sports Journal