SHERIDAN 2, REDEEMER 0

ANCASTER, Ont. - On a day where things didn't seem to go Redeemer's way, both women's and men's soccer teams dropped their season openers to the Sheridan Bruins at the Royals Soccer Complex in Ancaster.

The day began with a torrential downpour minutes before the kickoff of the women's game. The rain led to a very soggy first half which saw neither team able to develop any rhythm offensively. The teams entered halftime at 0-0.

As the teams settled down in the second half and the weather conditions improved, the Sheridan Bruins were first to find their scoring touch with a goal in the 58th minute. Kendra Cooper buried one past Redeemer's keeper Grace Berkel (Simcoe, Ont.) to take a 1-0 lead.

The Bruins strengthened their lead less than 10 minutes later when Jackie Hart scored from well outside the 18 yard box.

While the Royals struggled to pose a threat offensively, they played very consistently at the back. Berkel made a number of key saves in net early in the second half and first year Elli Reitsma (Goderich, Ont.) cleared a ball off the goal line in the 71st minute that was headed for the back of the net.

The game stood at 2-0 up until the end as the Bruins stole the win from the Royals on opening day.

Head coach Caell Huyer summed up the day saying, "I thought we played hard today. I think we played with passion but we didn't play as a team. Because of that we created holes and had little support."

The Royals were heavily outshot in the match and had difficulty creating quality scoring opportunities. "We did a decent job transitioning to defence but were not able to transition up the field and create chances", commented Huyer.

After a successful preseason that saw the men's team post a 2-1 record under the guidance of new head coach Kyle Grootenboer, the Royals took a step back in their season opener with a 6-1 loss to the Sheridan Bruins.

The Royals new they would be in tough against the perennial powerhouse Bruins. The Royals showed some hope when first year Lewis Tuininga (Orillia, Ont.) put the Royals on the board in the 20th minute to tie the game at 1-1. However, Sheridan was able to wear Redeemer down as the game progressed.

Goals in the 40th (Nicholas Lindsay) and 43rd (David Velastegui) minutes by the Bruins put the Royals at a 3-1 deficit heading into the half.

From that point, both teams played a scoreless 40 minutes before Sheridan put the game out of reach with a goal in the 81st (Nicholas Lindsay) minute. The Bruins added two more goals in the 83rd (Matthew Santos) and 90th (Nicholas Lindsay) minute for the 6-1 win.

In his first league game as the bench boss for the Royals, Kyle Grootenboer was very honest saying, "it was an eye opener. It is good to see where we need to be in order to compete with the top teams in this league. It's a good team that we played against today and that's where we need to get to."

Both teams will look to rebound as they have a few days off before returning to the field on Wednesday night. The women's team plays at 4:30 p.m. at the Royals Sports Complex and the men's team follows at 6:30 p.m.

Source: Redeemer University College

ANCASTER, Ont. - In a season that can only be described as a sprint - with eight games played over a 27-day span - getting off to a good start is critical.

For the Sheridan Bruins women's soccer team (1-0 OCAA) it was a bittersweet opener, as they got the result they desired - picking up maximum points in a 2-0 triumph over Redeemer - without delivering their best performance.

"Overall we got the result we wanted, but we didn't capitalize to our maximum potential," Sheridan assistant coach Nadene Boothe said. "In a short season, we have to get the job done every game. We can't count on the next one to make up for the other one."

With intermittent rain, which at times was heavy, both sides struggled to find their footing in the early going and went to the half still scoreless.

Kendra Cooper scored the opener for the Double-Blue in the 58th minute, sprinting past her defender in a one-on-one match-up down the right wing before beating the keeper on the short side.

Just after the hour Natasha Priestman nearly made it 2-0, but her strike from just inside the area was pushed aside.

Sheridan would get their insurance marker shortly thereafter though, when Jaclyn Hart delivered a left-footed laser from 30-yards out.

Alyssa Teixieria and Monica Pugliese combined to keep the sheet clean for the Lady Bruins.

The club now has a full week off - their longest stretch between games the entire season - before making a weekend trip to south western Ontario for games against St. Clair and Lambton.

Boothe says the ability to have that full week of practice will extremely helpful to work on some issues and continue to install more strategies.

"Today we saw some things we need to clean up," she said. "We'll definitely work on our structure and the weaknesses that we saw being exposed at times that we really shouldn't be exposed. That will be our focus for the next week."

Source: Sheridan College