Satbir Singh
Sports Information Coordinator
Following a 1-4-1 regular season record, Mountaineers women's soccer prepare for a road playoff game this Sunday, Oct. 17.
Entering into the year, Mohawk only had three returning players with the remaining roster being filled with first-year student-athletes.
"This season has been a great experience for our young roster," said first-year head coach Paul Giannini.
The Mountaineers played some tough competition, overcame injuries and still qualified for the OCAA playoffs.
They'll travel to Windsor for the opening round to play the St. Clair Saints (4-1-1), who finished second in the conferences west division. Mohawk enters playoff action as the third seed in the OCAA south division.
The Mountaineers and Saints played an exhibition match earlier this year, in which Mohawk won 1-0 thanks to a late goal by second-year midfielder Sam Mathieu.
Giannini said his team needs to stay focused and stick to the game plan heading into the playoffs.
"We expect a difficult game," Giannini said. "St. Clair works hard and always tries to play balls behind their opponents' backline."
For the 2021/22 season, Mohawk scored a total of eight goals, which ranked 11th in the OCAA. Defensively, the Mountaineers ranked 12th in goals against, allowing 18 goals.
Mathieu's led the team with four goals on the year, while Taylor Lee scored twice and Sabrina Cianciosi and Katelyn Barich each had a goal.
Mountaineers goalkeeper Samantha DeHaan played in all six games, making 35 saves and had one shutout.
Offensively, St. Clair ranked sixth in the league with 16 goals and gave up seven goals defensively, ranking eighth in goals against.
Tira Copeland and Emma Riccardi led the Saints with three goals each, while Jaclyn French and Cassie Nicholas had two goals apiece.
Athena Dimario was the key goalkeeper for St. Clair, playing in all six games, making 42 saves with one shutout.
This is the fifth consecutive year the Mountaineers women's soccer program has made the OCAA playoffs – excluding the 2020/21 cancelled season due to COVID-19.
The Mountaineers and Saints kick-off at 2 p.m. at Acumen Stadium on Oct. 17.
