Rookie forward Rebecca Spratt led Humber to a 3-0 victory
With playoff chances fading, George Brown’s women’s soccer team focused on a strong defensive showing at Centennial Park against the Humber Hawks.
While the Huskies managed to stick to the plot for most of Wednesday’s first half, the Hawks came all guns blazing in the second half, led by forward Rebecca Spratt.
Humber had possession for most of the game, with the Huskies working to build a fortress around their goal posts. The first twenty minutes were evenly matched as an apprehensive Hawks unit couldn’t break past a focused Huskies defence.
Midfielder Hayley Mackie gave the Hawks their initial tally with a clean strike in the 24th minute. The Huskies remained close after 45 minutes, down just 1-0.
The second half was a completely different story, as the Hawks upped their offensive play and left George Brown reeling. With the Huskies defence tiring, Spratt and fellow forward Zoe Longsworth formed a potent partnership to lead Humber’s up-tempo aggression.
Spratt scored her team-leading 6th goal before Longsworth followed suit at the 68th minute. With the score 3-0 and time ticking away, Huskies centre midfielder Effie Takas made a great play, only to narrowly miss the goal. As a result, Hawks goalkeeper Vanessa Fiore walked away with her third clean sheet of the season.
“Zoe and Rebecca have been playing really well,” said Hawks head coach Mauro Ongaro, whose side leads the central division with a 7-0-1 record. “It’s a process to continue working hard and wherever it takes us, it’ll take us.”
Spratt and Longsworth have together accounted for 11 of Humber’s 23 goals this season, an impressive feat considering both are in their first year. “I’m still a rookie and the fact that I’m scoring and contributing to the team feels nice,” said Spratt.
Despite the loss, many positives emerged for George Brown this match. With the regular season finale this Saturday against Seneca, the Huskies have one more opportunity to make a statement.
“I felt we held it together this time,” said Takas. “We worked as a team and communicated well. We are getting better each game.”
