Kajan Thiruthanikasalam, Sports Writer (Colts Athletics)

SCARBOROUGH, ONT- It took them until the eighth game of the season but the Colts women finally got the monkey off their backs.

"(It's) a lot better than your third or fourth loss, that's for sure," Centennial head coach Diarmuid O'Connor said, laughing. "It feels good and I feel happy for the girls; they don't deserve not to have won a game yet." 

And it was, according to defender Rachel Morcos, "long overdue."

Morcos' goal (30") was all Centennial (1-5-2) needed as they earned their first win of the season, beating the Loyalist Lancers (0-7-2), 1-0, in front of a raucous crowd at AWC Turf Field on a chilly Wednesday night.

With the win, Centennial also earned at least a point in consecutive games for the first time this season, gaining momentum after hitting rock bottom last Wednesday with a 8-0 road loss to the Seneca Sting.

"It's about time," midfielder Nicole Warren said. "Our communication was a lot better (tonight)."

"I think that (beating against Seneca) was what we needed to get the ball rolling and get us hungry," Morcos said. "We have nothing to lose at this point."

Although her efforts did not lead to a goal, Warren was instrumental in opening up the field for her teammates as she had multiple chances on goal throughout the game and left the Lancers defense in disarray.

"It's her work ethic; (Nicole's) always chasing the ball and never gives up on the play," O'Connor said. "She put a tremendous amount of pressure on their defenders."

Colts goalie Michelle Philip made four saves as she earned her first clean sheet of the season. The shot count favoured Centennial throughout the game as they outshot Loyalist, 23-10 and 6-4 in shots on goal.

The action started early for Centennial as Warren had a chance in the 5th minute with a shot from just outside the box but Lancers goalie Mariah Beskers made the early stop to keep the game scoreless. Centennial had another glorious chance in the 23rd minute but Brandi Riggs redirected the cross just wide.

The Colts broke through in the 30th minute as Morcos took a shot from about 22 feet out and beat Beskers through her legs off of a deflection and into the top left corner to open the scoring.

"I looked up and the centre of the field was free," Morcos said. "It was an opportunity that I knew I had to capitalize on."

Loyalist had their chances in the second half, as forward Jodie Mitchell had two chances (77", 82") to tie the game but Philip was up to the challenge, stopping both attempts. The Lancers never threatened after that.

Standing out from the crowd were the Colts men's soccer team, who were downright raucous at times as they cheered on the girls from the sidelines. Their enthusiasm was clearly noticed from the women's team.

"It's great on a cold day to have the men's team (who did not have a game today) cheering us on, especially in the last few minutes," O'Connor said.

"It just amped up everybody on the team," Warren said. "It's fun to hear them (cheering us on)."

"Normally, we don't get that kind of support," Morcos said. "So to have that tonight was nice."

Colts forward Kali Zheng (lower body) left the game in the 11th minute and did not return.

UP NEXT: Centennial plays the Durham Lords at home (AWC Turf Field) on Friday Oct. 6, at 6:00 pm while Loyalist heads home to Upper Field on Wednesday Sept. 11, to play against the Fleming Knights at 6:00 pm.