TORONTO — Emily Di Natale and Ivymae Perez each found the back of the net for the TMU Bold women's soccer team, but the Bold 5-2 defeat on Saturday afternoon at Varsity Stadium.
The match wrapped up a home-and-home against the Varsity Blues, after the two programs met Thursday night at Downsview Park.
Unlike the team's 4-0 defeat to the Varsity Blues on Thursday, the Bold wasted little time finding the scoresheet on Saturday afternoon. Second-year midfielder Emily Di Natale opened the scoring in the fifth minute, as she capitalized on a loose ball inside the box and recorded her first-career goal with the program.
However, the host Varsity Blues scored three-straight goals — which all came off the foot of Miranda Badovinac — to make the score 3-1, but the Bold continued to show fight.
Just two minutes after Badovinac's third goal of the afternoon, Perez continued her standout standout season, scoring her sixth goal of the season — a perfectly executed penalty to trim the Bold deficit to one.
"She's big. If you watch even our games when she's not scoring, you see her involved in a lot of plays — there's a lot of good movement from her. She's huge for our team," Bold head coach John Yacou said, when asked about the play of Perez.
After pressing with attacking runs throughout the second half, the Bold were unable to equalize the match — as the Varsity Blues added two insurance markers, including one with TMU down to 11 players as they reestablished their two-goal advantage.
Despite the loss, Yacou was pleased with how his team played in a match where the shot totals were only slightly tilted in favour of the Varsity Blues 16-14.
"I actually really enjoyed this game. Even though we lost the game, I believe this was the first time that we actually competed and we weren't afraid to play. We showed a lot of character," said Bold head coach John Yacou.
"I think we just have to build on that. Build on the character — when you're down that you just keep having to fight, regardless of the time and in the score in the game, you just have to continue"
The Bold fell to 3-4-1 on the season following the defeat and sit in the sixth and final playoff spot in the OUA East. Meanwhile, the Varsity Blues climbed to 8-2-0 with the win, as they moved just one point back of the first-place Ottawa Gee-Gees.
TMU will play their final four regular-season games on the road, including a pair of matches next weekend against the Nipissing Lakers and the Laurentian Voyageurs. First up is Nipissing on Saturday, Oct. 15 in North Bay. Kick off is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.
The Lakers currently sit six points up on the Bold and in fourth-place in the OUA East — meaning the upcoming match is a big one with playoff implications on the line.
"I think if we were heading into this coming weekend with the result that we had against U of T on Thursday, we would be in shambles. But I think leaving this game, even though they lost, I think they are going to leave with some pride and some confidence. It'll be exciting next weekend," said Yacou.
