SEMIFINAL #2: 2009 CIS women’s soccer championship: Top-ranked Carabins off to first CIS final

By University of Toronto sports information office


TORONTO (CIS) – Second-year striker Éva Thouvenot-Hébert scored in the 12th minute on Montreal’s only shot on goal of the game and the top-ranked Carabins held on to defeat the UBC Thunderbirds 1-0 in the second semifinal of the CIS women’s soccer championship at Varsity Centre, Saturday afternoon.

Thouvenot-Hébert, a Montreal native, netted her first goal of the tournament when she took a pass from Catherine Delmas-Frénette, also of Montreal, and found herself all alone inside the 18-yard box, tipping the ball over a diving Jaclyn Dunnett, an all-Canadian goalkeeper from Burnaby, B.C.

The Quebec champion Carabins advance to their first CIS final in four appearances at the national tournament and will face the defending champion Trinity Western Spartans, who came from behind to defeat the Queen’s Gaels 2-1 (5-3 in penalty kicks) in the first semifinal.

The title match is set for 5 p.m.

The Carabins were bronze medallists a year ago after a disappointing loss to Brock in semifinal action. Montreal and Trinity Western have met only once before at the CIS tourney, the Spartans cruising to a 7-0 victory en route to their first of two national titles.

UBC will face Queen’s at 2 p.m. for CIS bronze. The T-Birds hold the all-time record of five Gladys Bean memorial trophy triumphs and have medalled in each of their 10 previous appearances at the competition, adding two silvers and three bronzes to their gold-medal tally.

Both Sunday duels will be streamed on SSN Canada (www.ssncanada.ca  or www.cis-sic.ca ) and the final will be televised live on Rogers TV.

“We were hoping to play [TWU] last year in the finals but we lost in the semis,” said Montreal head coach Kevin McConnell. “The girls are going to be extremely motivated; Trinity is a very good team. It’s going to be a very good final.”

Immediately following Montreal’s goal, UBC flooded the Carabins net with three shots –North Vancouver, B.C. native Rachael Sawer had two solid opportunities and Caitlin Davie of Tsawwassen, B.C. had another, however, Carabins defenders and goalkeeper Sarah Therien (Montreal, Que.) stood tall to maintain the lead.

Second-year Thunderbirds defender Kelly Cook (Maple Ridge, B.C.) played a solid two-way game with a couple of huge stops on Montreal rushes and stepping into the counter attack in an attempt to get her squad on the board.

The T-Birds nearly tied things up in the 81st minute when first-year striker Rachel Sawer of North Vancouver, B.C. headed the ball past Therien, however, Carabins player of the game and CIS all-Canadian Émilie Mercier maintained the one-goal lead as she lunged to kick the ball out of harms way.

“[UBC pressured] us from the start, especially in the last 20 minutes - they just pushed forward,” said Mercier. “They’re a really good team and I’m so happy that we got to win, but give congrats to them – they had a lot of courage.”

SCORING SUMMARY

MON: 1-0:1
UBC: 0-0:0

First Half
1. MON, Éva Thouvenot-Hebert (1) (Catherine Delmas-Frenette), 12th minute

Second Half
No scoring

Goalkeepers:
MON: Sarah Thérien (W, 0 GA, 5 saves, 90:00 mins)
UBC: Jaclyn Dunnett (L, 1 GA, 0 saves, 90:00 mins)

Shots: MON 3, UBC 12
Shots on Net: MON 1, UBC 6
Corners: MON 2, UBC 5
Offsides: MON 0, UBC 2
Fouls: MON 10, UBC 13
Yellow Cards: UBC (Jaclyn Dunnett, Chelsea Stang)
Red Cards: None

Players of the game:
MON: Emilie Mercier
UBC: Chelsea Stang

CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS

Thursday, Nov. 12
Quarter-final 1: Queen’s 1, StFX 0 (OT)
Quarter-final 2: Trinity Western 1, UPEI 0
Quarter-final 3: UBC 2, York 1 (OT)
Quarter-final 4: Montreal 3, Toronto 2

Friday, Nov. 13
Consolation 1: UPEI 1, StFX 0
Consolation 2: Toronto 1, York 0

Saturday, Nov. 14
Semifinal 1: Trinity Western 2, Queen’s 1 (5-3 PK)
Semifinal 2: Montreal 1, UBC 0
18:30 Consolation final (5th-place match): UPEI vs. Toronto (SSN Canada webcast)

Sunday, Nov. 15
14:00 Bronze medal: Queen’s vs. UBC (SSN Canada webcast)
17:00 Championship final: Trinity Western vs. Montreal (Rogers TV / SSN Canada webcast)

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