After barely missing the playoffs once again, Craymer Forth could not question the effort of his players. The head coach of the women’s soccer team at Cambrian College, Forth is focusing on the positive aspects as he looks back on the 2008 season.
Cambrian posted a record of 6-6, good for 18 points and third place in their division. Unfortunately, the team missed the playoffs by one win. “They all worked hard and played consistently,” Forth said. “We had excellent play from our vets like Steph Grenier and Krista Zanatta.”
The coach said he couldn’t complain about what he got from the team in terms of goaltending either. However, the first three games of the schedule provided a tough start. “I don’t think we had much of a chance early,” he said. “A tie in any of those three games would’ve been helpful, but it’s hard to get points from strong teams like the ones we faced.”
Durham and Seneca both made provincials, and Algonquin College, who handed Cambrian its third straight loss, were edged recently in the OCAA Championship encounter. After being outscored 14-1, subtle changes made the team a much tougher opponent.
Forth moved Jessica O’Bumsawin to the forward line and the perennial defender started scoring big goals. Defensively, the Shield soon followed that lead. “We got to a point where we literally stopped teams from scoring. We came together as a team, and suddenly we were getting multiple shutouts.”
By the time the girls got a second chance at Algonquin, they had turned things around with four wins in five games. The coach of the Thunder could not help but to notice the difference after his team knocked off the Golden Shield by only two goals.
“Our first game against them, we weren’t as focused out there, and we dug ourselves a hole,” Forth admitted of the 7-0 shellacking. “But at the end of the second game, we played much better. Their coach even came over to me to say how impressed he was, how different we looked compared to the first game.”
In college sports, high turnover is a way of life and injuries can seemingly happen at the worst of times. Forth said losing Kirsty Mancuso four games in was a “pretty hard blow.” Another problem arose when O’Bumsawin’s scoring prowess was slowed.
“I even do it, if I see a player on the other team who is playing well, I tell the girls to watch her and stop her from scoring.” Forth agrees the games against Fleming were an important point in the season. “I thought we were evenly matched,” he said. “It came down to us versus them. Had we won game one, things could’ve been different. They didn’t even score until the last 10 minutes of the game.”
The Golden Shield lost that game 2-1. “We had some injuries, and they got some early goals,” the Laurentian Hall of Famer noted of the rematch as Cambrian fell for a second time, blanked 2-0. “It could have gone either way.” On October 15th, in the season finale, the team drilled three goals past the St. Lawrence Vikings.
Although they won that game 3-0, time had run out on the girls’ playoff push. Forth thanked the fans for their support as well as his coaching staff. He says next year will start with the same goal in mind as his last eight years have - make the playoffs.
“The people who came out saw a team game, but there was still that mental focus that needs to be improved,” he said. “If we can improve our home record (4-2) next year, even by a win, we’ll have a great chance to reach our goal.”
Forth admits the girls seemed to play better on the road because, “nobody was watching us. But having students out, with their painted faces, screaming and yelling...it’s a great atmosphere for a soccer match.” Forth will be recruiting this fall in attempts to replace key veterans. But for the returnees, 2009 provides for another shot at glory.
