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Beesley And Lukasewich Braces Give Vaughan 4-0 Result Over North Miss

By Anthony Gallo, 08/29/16, 10:45PM EDT

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Vaughan Azzurri made it three straight consecutive wins when they defeated the 2015 women's L1 Cup champions North Mississauga 4-0 off goals from Colleen Beesley (38', 52') and Olivia Lukasewich (67', 90').

During this three game winning streak, the Azzurri has outscored their opponents 15-0.

The match started off slow, due to the heat that looked to play a factor for both sides. Vaughan and North Mississauga were close to creating something early on, but neither looked to be a threat.

With their season winding down and regulars increasingly unavailable, the Azzurri played a younger squad against North Mississauga. Five call-up players made it into the match, and one got the start, as the Azzurri look to integrate more younger players into their senior team.

"The idea now is to get our young players exposed to this type of level and this standard of soccer so they can also improve and understand what it is all about at the next level," said Azzurri coach Sergio De Luca.

The younger players did make an impact on the match, as they all looked to be calm and make smart passes. One of the veteran players on the team, Colleen Beesley, netted the first goal of the match off a cross that just went by the rushing North Mississauga Panthers' keeper.

Beesley was back at it again when she made up for a missed opportunity in the 51st, scoring her second of the match to give her side a 2-0 lead before the hour mark.

Another veteran, Olivia Lukasewich, made it 3-0 off an initial shot by Beesley that hit the crossbar, but then fell to the foot of Lukasewich. The former Louisiana Tech player sealed the victory off a deflection after a nice acrobatic save by Panthers keeper,  Vanessa Fiore, in added time.

De Luca praised his team's effort, but noted his side did struggle to finish their chances.

"I thought at times the pace of the game was a little bit slow, but it was important to get the result."

"We threw away a lot of chances, and on a different day those chances can come back and bite you. We have to be a bit more clinical in front of goal."

North Mississauga head coach Trevor Bertrand mentioned that his team gave away the ball far too often, which caused them to play behind the ball more.

"We fought hard to win the ball, [but] the minute we got it, we gave it right back to Vaughan. Basically all game we were chasing, and then fatigue sets in and that's the result."

The Panthers head coach also believed that he would've liked for his younger players to get more practice time with his League1 Ontario team before they took on the Azzurri.

"We need to incorporate the call-up's with the girls we have left. Girls just coming into a game with no practice with the League1 team have no concept of what we are trying to do," said Bertrand.

Interestingly, with the win and 25 points in their pocket, the Azzurri now sit one point ahead of the total points from last year's League1 Ontario women's champion, Durham United FA.

However, the Azzurri's chances of challenging for the regular season title has mathematically vanished, as both Woodbridge and FC London are 8 and 11 points ahead respectively with two matches remaining.