An All Quebec Affair In USPORTS Women’s Soccer in the Gold Medal Game
There may be a pattern forming in 2022 in USPORTS Women’s Soccer that the rest of the country may want to take notice of coming from the “La Belle Province”. Like their counterparts in the CCAA, RSEQ University teams have set up a rematch of their Provincial final that took place just a week ago and will determine the Champion in 2022.
Now let’s not get fully ahead of ourselves, the Number 2 seeded Montreal Carabins could have been expected to be here with their ranking and placement, but the hosts from Laval have played some inspired soccer to get themselves a well deserved spot in the USPORTS National final game on Sunday at 2 pm at TELUS-Université Laval Stadium in Quebec City.
Laval Rouge et Or 2 – Cape Breton Capers 0
The eighth-seeded Laval Rouge et Or, are the hosts of the 2022 U SPORTS Women’s Soccer Championship presented by Groupe Océan and caused another upset on Friday night, shutting down the fourth-seeded Cape Breton Capers 2-0 in the tournament’s semifinals at TELUS-Université Laval Stadium in Quebec City.
Daphnee Blouin brought the local crowd to its feet in the 26th minute after taking possession of the ball in the midfield. She threaded her way around a few Capers defenders before taking a perfect shot to the right of keeper Haley Kardas to put Laval up by one.
The Rouge et Or doubled its lead in the 67th minute on a play that began with a long ball from defender Alexandra Doucet. Her teammate Megan Darchen was at the end of that through ball and she crossed in front of the goal for Mathilde Rousseau, who only had to push the ball in an open cage.
Montréal Carabins 2 – Ottawa GeeGees 2 (PK’s 3-0)
For their part, the Montreal Carabins had to rely on their goalkeeper Catherine Langelier to achieve an uncommon feat in the first semifinal, the third-year student-athlete saved three shots in the shootout to qualify the RSEQ champions for the gold medal game at the end of a 2-2 (3-0) victory over the Ottawa Gee Gees.
The Gee-Gees quickly opened the score against the Carabins when Angelina Gendreau and Cassandra Provost teamed up for an efficient give-and-go in the 13th minute. Provost heeled the ball back to Gendreau, who immediately shot the ball through the arms of Langelier. The Carabins came close to tying the game in the 21st minute, but Mégane Sauvé hit the crossbar.
Sauvé redeemed herself early in the second half. Her powerful volley found its way to the upper right corner of the Ottawa goal, making it a 1-1 game in the 46th minute. Olivia Allen then gave quite a show, threading through six Carabins players from the midfield into the opposite box where she was tripped. From the spot, Allen converted the penalty and gave the Gee-Gees a 2-1 lead. Montreal had not yet said its last word. In the 72nd minute, a high ball sent by Stephie-Ann Dadaille bounced over keeper Cassidy Joslin. She tried to pedal back and slap the ball away, but it was too late since the ball had crossed the goal line. The score remained tied until a shootout became necessary to identify a winner.
Amina Koroghli had the honour of scoring the winning goal to send the Montrealers into a frenzy.
A week ago, the Carabins defeated Laval 2-1 in the conference final. The second-seeded Carabins will attempt on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET at TELUS-Université Laval Stadium in Quebec City, to win a second national title in the program’s history after their 2017 championship. For their part, Laval are looking to grab a third Canadian title in their program’s history (2014 and 2016) and a second at home after achieving that feat eight years ago.
The Cape Breton Capers and the Ottawa Gee Gees will battle for a bronze medal Sunday at 11:30 a.m. The consolation final, originally scheduled for 11 a.m. on Saturday has been postponed to Sunday morning at 9 a.m. due to the bad weather expected in Quebec City on Saturday. This all-Canada West fifth-place battle will oppose the UBC Thunderbirds to the Trinity Western Spartans.
Sources: https://usports.ca/en/championships/soccer/f/news/2022/11/3032122643/wsoc-game-8
https://usports.ca/en/championships/soccer/f/news/2022/11/3652074915/wsoc-game-7