University Women: Queen's Gaels 1, Ottawa Gee Gees 0

On a completely lovely day without a cloud in the sky (and not too hot either), I took Katie for a little walk out and about and went down to Richardson Stadium on the Queen's West Campus to watch the Queen's Gaels women's team play their home opener against the Ottawa Gee Gees.

Last year, the Gee Gees won both games against Queen's by a 1-0 scoreline, but those were the only two losses by Queen's en route to winning the Canadian Championships out in PEI. As Ottawa always gives Queen's a very tough game, yesterday was no different. I only managed to see the second half of the game, but what I saw was Ottawa all over Queen's, getting a lot of good chances, but not being able to get anything from them.

There was a big break between the Queen's midfield and their strikers (two of the top five goal scorers in Canada last season) and the only times that the strikers were getting any touches on the ball were when they were coming deep into their own end to help defend. Imagine my surprise when, on one of the few times Queen's got into the Ottawa end, an Ottawa defender gave up a penalty kick by handling the ball in the area. Striker Jacqueline Tessier stepped up to take the penalty and rolled it into the left side of the net to put Queen's up 1-0 with about 15 minutes left in the game. Ottawa pressured, eventually outshooting Queen's 6-2 (for shots actually on target), but could not finish, and Queen's won their second game of the young season.

The crowd was decent, with a large number of fans of the Gee Gees present, and even several young lads with faces and chests painted in the Queen's colours. All told, an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon.