NORTH BAY, Ont. — The Ryerson Rams earned a 1-0 shootout victory over the third-seeded Nipissing Lakers in round one of the OUA playoffs on Wednesday evening in North Bay, advancing to the quarter-finals for the first time in program history.
Ryerson's
Elisa Lapadula (Brampton, Ont.) made five saves in the clean sheet appearance, adding another two in the shootout to shut the door on the Lakers' forwards.
A scoreless 90 minutes saw both teams exchange high-calibre chances in both halves, but neither could find the back of the net. Ryerson's
Katherine Sollbach (Burlington, Ont.) had three incredible scoring chances but missed the net on each one, keeping the game scoreless through 90 minutes of regulation play.
Lapadula stood strong in her box through the game and robbed the Lakers of several opportunities at her end of the field. A 0-0 tie at the end of regulation saw the teams head into extra time to decide the winner.
No goals were scored in the added 30 minutes, sending the game to a shootout.
Lapadula yet again stood strong and protected her net, making two stunning saves to shut the door on Nipissing's attempt to get ahead in penalty kicks.
Ryerson's
Maria Poveda (Mississauga, Ont.) would send the ball into the hands of the keeper in her first shootout attempt, but the Rams' next three shooters had better luck.
BreAnah Webster (Pickering, Ont.) and
Brooke Pearson (Pickering, Ont.) each netted the ball on their attempts to give the Rams a significant advantage.
Samantha Naus (Brampton, Ont.) sealed the deal for Ryerson in the fourth round, sending the ball straight to the back of the net to give her team the shootout 3-0 win and the historic 1-0 match victory over Nipissing.
The 2019 season now marks the first occasion the Rams have advanced beyond the first round of the playoffs. The sixth-seeded Rams will now prepare to take on the No. 1 Ottawa Gee-Gees on Sunday afternoon on the road, facing off in the OUA quarter-finals for the first time in team history. Game time is set for 12:30 p.m. in Ottawa.
