Not even a steady cold October rain could dampen the enthusiasm of the Windsor Lancers Wednesday as they prepare to close out the OUA women's soccer regular season this Saturday in Guelph.
 
“Oh we're used to this,” said midfielder Candace Garrod as she took to the artificial turf of Alumni Field for practice.
 
At 7-3-3, the Lancers are looking to clinch second place in the West division against the 4-6-2 Gryphons. They also need first-place Laurier to win or tie against McMaster which is 7-4-1 with a Friday game against Waterloo as well as Sunday's date with the Golden Hawks.
 
“We've heard Laurier is going for the win,” Garrod said. “They don't want to see us in the playoffs.”
 
The Golden Hawks were the top-ranked team in the CIS until last weekend when first Waterloo and then Windsor handed them back-to-back defeats and sent them tumbling down to No. 5 in the rankings.
 
If Laurier, now 10-2, and Windsor finish one-two in the West, they would each receive a first-round bye and avoid meeting each other until much deeper into the OUA playoffs.
 
“It's such a good feeling to be part of this,” said Garrod a fourth-year midfielder and the team's leading scorer with five goals. “We're all so close and we'd do anything for anybody.”
 
With a game left to the regular season the Lancers have already posted a program-high for wins and a second-place finish would also be a first.
 
In 2010, the Lancers went 5-4-5 good for third and in 1991 they also finished third at 5-3-4.
 
“We keep calling it the year of firsts,” head coach Angelo Verardi said. “It's the most wins ever, the most points ever. We swept Western and we swept Brock and we've never done that before.”
 
They've also never won an OUA title.
 
“We're actually hoping to finish off our year in Montreal (at the CIS nationals),” Verardi said.
 
The OUA will advance two teams to the eight-team nationals, Nov. 10-13.
 
“We've gotten better in all categories,” Verardi said. “I think we're in a great position this year to make a good run and the biggest thing is the players know they can do it.”
 
Confidence has been buoyed by defeating the Golden Hawks, who reached the CIS finals in 2010, two straight years.
 
“We were the only ones (in the OUA) to beat them last year,” Verardi said. “We've been playing well against them and we're comfortable playing against them.”
 
The Lancers have a core of experienced veterans in Garrod, fifth-year forward Mereasa Brownlie, fourht-year defender Sara Kox, fifth-year defender Amy Blencowe and fifth-year keeper Rebecca Singer.
 
They also have some talented freshmen in Robyn Preston, Alyshia Phillips and Bella Riccardi.
 
They've all come together to produce an unprecedented season in women's soccer at Windsor.
 
“A lot of Windsor teams are starting to pull it together,” Garrod said. “I think the university is in for a good year.”

Courtesy of The Windsor Star