 |  |
CIS women's soccer weekend roundup: Conference playoff matchups set
Photo credit Trinity Western Athletics
#10 UBC 2 #1 Alberta 0
by Matt Gutsch, U of Alberta Sports Info
EDMONTON - The No.10-ranked UBC Thunderbirds women's soccer team booked their ticket to the Canada West Final Four thanks to a 2-0 win over the No. 1 Alberta Pandas Sunday afternoon at Foote Field in Edmonton.
UBC got goals from Alisha Penev and Lisa Furutani, while goalkeeper Meghan Best made a handful of stops to record the win and the shutout.
The win gives the Thunderbirds an 8-5-1 record for 25 points, and temporarily third place in the conference standings. UBC defeated Lethbridge to claim third place, while UBC finishes fourth.
The Pandas will now have to regroup for next weekend when they host the conference championship tournament. The Final Four is scheduled for Nov 6-7 at Foote Field. The semifinal winners will play for gold and both conference finalists will advance to the CIS national championship, November 11-14 at the University of Prince Edward Island.
Golden Bears & Pandas Athletics
#8 Trinity Western 2 Saskatchewan 0
by Nicole Betker, Huskie Sports Info
SASKATOON - In a must win situation, the University of Saskatchewan Huskie women's soccer team came up short with a 2-0 loss to the visiting Trinity Western University Spartans Sunday in Saskatoon's Griffiths Stadium in PotashCorp Park.
Entering the final game of the Canada West regular season, the Huskies were locked in a three-way tie for third place with the UBC Thunderbirds and University of Fraser Valley Cascades. The top four teams in the standings advance to the Canada West Final Four next weekend. Both UBC and Fraser Valley earned wins on Sunday, leaving the Huskies as the odd-team out.
Saskatchewan will finish with a 7-6-1 record, while Trinity Western finishes the 2010 season at 9-3-2.
The Spartans will move on to the Canada West Final Four as the second place team. The University of Alberta Pandas will host the Final Four in Edmonton next weekend. Fraser Valley will qualify as the third-place team and UBC as the fourth.
huskies.usask.ca
Fraser Valley 3 Lethbridge 0
by David Kent, UFV Sports Info
ABBOTSFORD, B.C. - The Fraser Valley Cascades capped off their "dream season" with a 3-0 victory over the Lethbridge Pronghorns at Bateman Park.
The victory coupled with a Saskatchewan loss and UBC victory propelled the Cascades into their first Canada West post-season "Final Four" tournament next weekend in Edmonton, hosted by the Alberta Pandas, the 2010 CW regular season champions. The Cascades will play the program's first-ever post-season match against their arch rivals Trinity Western Spartans.
Veteran goalkeeper Chantelle Biagioni earned her 5th shutout of the season and lowered her goals against average to 1.21 for the 14-match regular season.
Cascades Athletics
Regina 1 Manitoba 0
by Mitchell Clinton, U of Manitoba Sports Info Assistant
WINNIPEG - The University of Manitoba Bisons ended their Canada West Conference season in heartbreaking fashion, losing 1-0 at the hands of the Regina Cougars at the Waverley Soccer Complex on Sunday.
Cougar midfielder Molly Glass put one past Bisons keeper Laura Harrison in extra time in the second half for the game's only goal.
The Bisons finish the season at 1-9-4, while the Cougars end their season on a winning note and a 5-7-2 record.
gobisons.ca
Calgary 3 Victoria 2
by Mike Tucker, UVic Sports Info
VICTORIA - The 2010 Canada West season came to a close for the UVic Vikes women's soccer team on Sunday, ending with the Calgary Dinos taking a 3-2 decision at Centennial Stadium.
Calgary opened the scoring with an own goal in the 25th minute, and seconds later Morena Ianniello struck again for the Dinos. Calgary added a third before the half expired, Tessa Miller scoring in the 44th minute.
Vikes goals came from Kaitlyn Hunter and Frankee Bencher. Hunter scored her fourth of the season in the 27th minute off a free kick just outside the 18-yard box. Hunter, a senior from North Vancouver, shared the team scoring high this season with rookie Jaclyn Sawicki.
Bencher's goal came in the 61st minute, with Jacqueline Harrison picking up the assist.
The Vikes finish the regular season 5-6-3 and miss the playoffs for the first time since 2001. Calgary finishes 6-5-3, with 21 points.
Vikes Athletics
Western Mustangs @ Laurier Golden Hawks
The Western Mustangs took the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks to penalty kicks, but the purple and gold prevailed 3-2 and advance to the Final Four in Kingston.
"We were lucky to get the result in the end, but a little bit of luck going into the playoffs is a positive thing for us," said head coach Barry Maclean following the game. "We can perform a lot better than we did today."
Both teams were having trouble dealing with the wind, but it was the Hawks who would strike first. Julia Marchese of Oakville, Ont. redirected a Heather Maliza (Burlington, Ont.) shot to make the score 1-0 in the 21st minute. The Mustangs would answer with a goal from Erin Grand of Toronto in the 41st minute making the score tied 1-1 at the break.
In the second, the Western's Emily Deckert of Kitchener, Ont. gave the visitors a 2-1 advantage in the 51st minute, but Laurier's team co-captain Tania Pedron of Maple, Ont. evened the match two minutes later by sniping the top right corner of the net on a free kick in the 18-yard box.
Nothing was resolved in overtime so the match went to a shoot out.
The Mustangs went first and both team's made good on their first three shots. On Western's fourth attempt Laurier netminder Mal Woeller of Kinburn, Ont. made the stop. Then Heather Malizia scored to put the Hawks up by one and Woeller made another save to give Laurier the win.
The Hawks out shot the visitors 12-to-3 with Heather Malizia taking seven shots. Melanie Oberholzer of Kitchener, Ont. made eight saves in the loss.
Source: Hawks Athletics
Nipissing Lakers @ Queen's Gaels
The No. 3 Queen's Gaels won a close 2-1 overtime decision over the Nipissing Lakers in the OUA quarter-final at Richardson Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The win advances Queen's to the OUA Final four which the Gaels will host next Saturday and Sunday.
CIS scoring leader, Jacqueline Tessier of Winnipeg, scored the winning overtime goal for the Gaels.
Queen's had a strong first half with a number of opportunities including several shots from Tessier that went high. The game was scoreless at halftime.
Queen's Kelli Chamberlain of North Bay, Ont., opened the scoring in the 67th minute of the game. The Gaels looked like they would secure the game without issue, however, Shannon McLeod of Port Dover, Ont., tied the game in the 89th minute to force the game into overtime.
The Gaels needed only eight minutes of overtime before Tessier scored the game winner.
Queen's keeper, Chantal Marson of London, Ont., helped the Gaels keep the lead for the remainder of the overtime with several key saves. The final score was 2-1 for the Gaels.
Source: Gaels Athletics
Laurentian Voyageurs @ Ottawa Gee-Gees
The uOttawa Gee-Gees had to brave some cool, wet weather in their Saturday OUA East Quarter-Final match with the Laurentian Voyageurs. Nerves were a factor early on for the Gee-Gees as they struggled to get organized. But what still more evident than nerves was the intensity; it would be a very tough, physical match at both ends.
Scoring chances were few and far between in the first half that is until Laurentian's Lisa Watsonwould throw what looked like a harmless ball to the front of the net. However, with third-year goalkeeper Melissa Pesant, Gatineau, Que., drawn to the Laurentian attacker, and out of position, the ball trickled through a couple defenders to find itself at the back of the net; 1-0 Laurentian.
The Gee-Gees best chance of the half would come at the 30' mark when fifth-year midfielder Elise Desjardins, Cumberland, Ont., threw a strong corner kick to the front of the net. Third-year defense Gillian Baggott, Ottawa, Ont., was there to head the ball, but just sent it over the Laurentian net. The score at halftime would remain 1-0 for Laurentian.
Credit to the Gee-Gees who came out in the second half determined to get the equalizer. Now settled, the garnet and grey would have numerous quality chances to score. However, Laurentian would come painfully close to putting this one away in the 73' minute. Thankfully, Pesant made the save of the game to avoid a 2-0 hole.
Now in the 80th minute, Desjardins and Baggott would have a chance to redeem themselves on the corner kick for the goal that eluded them in the first half. This time however Elise made no mistake in finding Baggott at the front of the net as she battled the Laurentian defense to head the ball into the net and tie the game at 1-1.
Extra time would have two fifteen minute halves, but with no sudden death goal. Both teams exchanged chances in the extra frames, but with no real substantial threat. Yet, first-year striker Elisabeth Wong, Nepean, Ont.,would collide with the Laurentian goalkeeper, Michelle Philp, late in the first extra time half. As a result, the goalkeeper was forced to leave the game and subsequently was taken to hospital; there is no word on her condition at this time.
Nevertheless with neither team scoring, the game would have to be decided in a shootout. Shooting for the Gee-Gees were Brittany Harrison, Elise Desjardins, Tara Condos, Christine Hardie, and Dominique Falardeau. After the Gee-Gees scored on all five attempts, it came down to former Gee-Gee Renee Jacques of Laurentian who was stopped on a low shot by third-year backup goalkeeper Michelle McElligott. Gee-Gees win the shootout, and the game to advance to next week's OUA Final Four in Kingston.
Source: Gee-Gees Athletics
Windsor Lancers @ McMaster Marauders
The McMaster Marauder women's soccer team defeated the Windsor Lancers 1-0 in OUA quarterfinal action at Ron Joyce Stadium Saturday night. The first half was a hard fought battle, which saw the Marauders and Lancers equally sharing possession.
The second half brought a string of close chances for the Marauders. In the 47 th minute Hayley Marler (Ancaster, Ont.) managed to turn her defender in the box, and hammer a shot just over the cross bar. Minutes later a scuffle in the Windsor penalty area nearly resulted in the ball trickling over the goal line.
McMaster's hard-earned break finally came in the 72 nd minute when Carley Luongo (Ancaster, Ont.) took a free kick from the 30 yards out and found the head of second year striker Tara Dawdy (Oakville, Ont.). Dawdy flicked it past Windsor keeper Danielle St. Germain (Sarnia, Ont.), and into the net. The goal couldn't have been better timed as minutes earlier Dawdy had sent her penalty shot just wide of Windsor's net.
The remaining 18 minutes were a back and forth effort between teams, however Dawdy's goal proved to be the game winner, and when the final whistle blew the score remained 1-0 McMaster. Keeper Jocelyn Wilkins was strong in net for the Marauders, recording her fourth shutout of the season.
Source: Marauders Athletics
