The North Mississauga Panthers women’s League1 Ontario team is set to take to home field again on Friday, this time against a formidable challenger.
On paper, the Panthers women’s team’s game against the Oakville Blue Devils is a David and Goliath battle. The Blue Devils have won three of their first four games this year and are tied for second in League1 standings, while the Panthers have lost all four of their games, three of them by at least five goals.
But this is a challenge that the Panthers have risen to before. The game the team did keep competitive was a 2-1 loss to DeRo United, who is also tied for second, going undefeated in the three games. But while DeRo United has been successful by scoring more goals, the Blue Devils have won through defence, giving up only five goals in four games, which the Panthers know will be a challenge.
“We’ve worked a lot on breaking defensive lines and passing,” said Panthers’ head coach Judy Tjanetis. “So hopefully that will benefit us with this game on Friday.”
Tjanetis also said a big reason for being competitive was that they had several roster players return during that game.
During this game, the team will field ten League1 players and the possible return of Cassaandra Briscoe, one of the team’s veteran players.
“We’ve also got three players coming up who play together on a regular basis,” added Tjanetis. “Hopefully that will benefit our ability to control the middle of the field.”
The head coach also said that her message for her team is that they’re going to have to move in order to break the Oakville Blue Devil’s defensive line and execute scoring opportunities more quickly.
Kickoff will be at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 31st at Paramount Fine Foods Centre Field #1.
