The Sudbury Canadians knew that with the undefeated Markham Lightning coming to town over the weekend, they would be in tough - and the visitors did not disapoint.

After the teams played to a 3-3 draw Saturday in a wide open affair, defense would be the calling card on Sunday. Angela Sullivan converted off a scramble following a corner kick in the 82nd minute, propelling the Lightning past the Canadians 1-0.

Markham improved to 4-0-2, holding down first place with 14 points while Sudbury fell to 2-1-1, good enough for seven points and sole possession of fourth place in the eight team league.

Serena San Cartier scored a pair of goals to lead the Canadians' attack in the opener, with Cloe Lacasse adding the remaining tally while Laura Gosse, Jordanna Phillips and Sullivan countered with goals for Markham.

Holding a 3-1 lead at one point, the Canadians surrendered a pair of second half goals, including one with the team playing one man down. Defenders Samantha Innocente and Ashley Melnek received red cards over the weekend, with both players likely to serve at least a single game suspension when Sudbury travels to Ajax for a pair of games next weekend.

"I feel that we just need to control the ball a little bit more," noted San Cartier after the tough loss yesterday afternoon. "We kind of get flustered some times and give it away. I think that overall as a team, if we have more control and are a bit calmer, then we can make better plays."

With both of the OWSL Provincial Level games scheduled for the James Jerome Sports Complex turf field, San Cartier feels that there is an advantage to playing at home.

"I definitely love the turf field," she said. "The game is a lot faster, a lot quicker and there's not as much weird bounces as what we're used to on our fields here in Sudbury. It's nice."

The games presented an opportunity for fall-time teammates to go head to head as the Lady Vees within the Sudbury lineup (Innocente, Melnek, Dayna Corelli and Stacey Watson) had to be vigilent of the offensive talents of fellow Laurentian striker Lisa Watson, a veteran with the Markham side.

With a few injuries to deal with, including Madyson Beaudry in the first half on Sunday, thirteen year old midfielder Rachel Leck enjoyed the opportunity to play most of the final 45 minutes of the back-end of the weekend double-header.

In other OWSL action, the Sudbury Panhellenic U-21 ladies opened their Central Region schedule, sweeping a pair of games from the Erin Mills Eagles. Panhellenic blanked the Eagles by scores of 3-0 and 1-0 as keeper Kaitlyn Matson registered back to back shutouts.

Laura Ozoria, Karen Dubreuil and Courtney Ceccarelli found the back of the net on Saturday for coach Joe Persi, with Ceccarelli adding her second of the weekend some 24 hours later.

Competing in a six team league, the Sudbury squad will play a total of ten games, with only four at home. The crew heads to Newmarket, battling the host United U-21 ladies on both the 25th and 26th of June before hosting North Mississauga in Sudbury in July (9th and 10th).