Photo Credit: Freeze Frame Photos
On Friday, October 9th, the Algoma Thunderbirds men’s and women’s soccer programs travelled south to Alumni Stadium to take on the Windsor Lancers in Ontario University Athletics (OUA) soccer action.
The Thunderbirds faced a challenging afternoon against the Lancers, with the Algoma women falling 4-0 before the men dropped a 3-2 decision after battling back from an early two-goal deficit.
Women’s Soccer: Windsor Pulls Away in Second Half
The Algoma Thunderbirds women’s soccer team suffered a 4-0 loss to the Windsor Lancers, who used a strong offensive performance to secure the victory at Alumni Stadium.
After a scoreless opening 42 minutes, Windsor broke through at 42:41 when Olivia Corazza scored an unassisted goal to give the Lancers a 1-0 lead.
Corazza struck again just 4:13 into the second half, finding the back of the net at 46:54 for her second goal of the game to extend Windsor’s advantage to 2-0.
The Lancers continued to apply pressure, with Michaela Marenchin adding an unassisted goal at 58:06 to make it 3-0.
Windsor completed the scoring at 73:14 when Autumn Allen converted a setup from Zola DeGraw to give the Lancers a four-goal cushion.
Corazza led Windsor’s offensive attack with 10 shots and two goals, while Marenchin recorded two shots and a goal. Allen also finished with a goal, while DeGraw contributed an assist.
Algoma managed one recorded shot, coming from Erin Santin, as the Thunderbirds struggled to generate offensive opportunities against the Lancers.
In goal, Algoma’s Paisley Pennington faced a busy afternoon, stopping 17 of the 21 shots she faced in the loss. Windsor goalkeeper Izzy Barrette stopped the lone shot directed her way to record the shutout.
Men’s Soccer: Thunderbirds Rally Before Late Windsor Winner
The Algoma Thunderbirds men’s soccer team showed resilience after falling behind early but ultimately came up short in a 3-2 loss to the Windsor Lancers.
Windsor opened the scoring just 5:11 into the contest when Mateo Nepszy found the back of the net off an assist from Issam Hassoun.
The Lancers doubled their advantage at 11:30, with Ryan Hickson scoring to make it 2-0. Hassoun picked up his second assist of the game on the goal, giving Windsor an early two-goal cushion.
Despite the deficit, the Thunderbirds continued to battle and found their breakthrough early in the second half.
At 52:36, Brandon Ali scored an unassisted goal to cut Windsor’s lead to 2-1 and give Algoma a chance to get back into the contest.
Just over three minutes later, at 56:07, Luke Broadhurst scored an unassisted goal to complete the Thunderbirds’ comeback and tie the game at 2-2.
With the match level, both teams looked for the decisive goal. Windsor eventually found the winner at the 90-minute mark, when Hickson scored his second goal of the game to give the Lancers a 3-2 victory.
Hickson led Windsor with five shots and two goals, while Nepszy finished with two shots and a goal. Hassoun contributed two assists in the Lancers’ offensive effort.
For Algoma, Ali and Broadhurst each recorded one shot and one goal in the loss.
Thunderbirds goalkeeper Josh Bondac stopped seven of the 10 shots he faced, while Windsor’s Luca Vano made two saves on the two shots he faced on target.
Although the men’s team was unable to complete the comeback with a result, the goals from Ali and Broadhurst demonstrated Algoma’s ability to respond after conceding twice in the opening 12 minutes.
Thunderbirds Set for Final Regular-Season Homestand
Following their road trip to Windsor, the Algoma Thunderbirds men’s and women’s soccer programs will close out their 2026 regular season with a two-game homestand against the Western Mustangs.
The teams will meet at Superior Heights on October 17th and 18th, with both days featuring a women’s match at 1:00 p.m. followed by the men’s contest at 3:15 p.m.
The final weekend of regular-season action will give the Thunderbirds an opportunity to finish their schedule at home as they prepare for the conclusion of the OUA campaign.
