U Sports – QF #1Rouge et Or move to next round with convincing 5-0 over Saskatchewan

WOLFVILLE, N.S. (U Sports) – Joelle Gosselin (Quebec, Que.) and Cynthia Turcotte (Quebec, Que.) each had two goals as the No. 2 seeded Laval Rouge et Or’s high tempo aggresive play led to a 5-0 win over the No. 7 Saskatchewan Huskies.

Gosselin opened the scoring early in the opening half at the nine minute off of a Joanie L’Abbe (Laval, Que.) corner kick to take a 1-0 lead. 

The remaining scoring came in the second half of play. Cynthia Turcotte scored her first of two goals 12 minutes into the second frame.  

Gosselin netted her second goal of the day less than three minutes after Turcotte’s goal. A pass fed by Lea Chastenay-Joseph (Quebec, Que.) allowed Gosselin to find the low left corner past Huskie Keeper Kyleigh Vause (Calgary, Alta.) to push the score to 3-0 early in the second half. 

Six minutes after Gosselin’s second goal, Turcotte found the net for the second time in game one of the quarterfinal matchup. 

With just under eight minutes remaining in the game, the Rouge et Or concluded the second half onslaught with an unassisted Marianne Franco-Barbeau goal to cap the scoring spree at a 5-0 final. 

The Rouge et Or forwards played aggressively not allowing the Huskies to get past mid field and in some cases stuck in their end under constant Laval pressure, out-shooting the Huskies 8-0.

Gosselin, named the Adidas Subway Player of the Game, is in her third U Sports championship and pointed out that her team hoped to set the pace of the game.  

“We wanted to set the tempo and have the other team adjust to us and that’s what we did”, pointed out Gosselin. 

The Rouge et Or will move to the next round and take on the winner of the No. 3 seeded UOIT Ridgebacks and No. 6 Trinity Western Spartans in tomorrow’s 5:00 pm semi-final.

CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE AND RESULTS (all times ATLANTIC TIME)

Wednesday, Nov. 9

19:00 All-Canadian Awards Banquet (Festival Theatre, Acadia University)

Thursday, Nov. 10

12:00 Quarter-final 1: Lava (5) vs Saskatchewan (0)

14:30 Quarter-final 2: No. 3 UOIT vs. No. 6 Trinity Western (Watch Online)

17:00 Quarter-final 3: No. 4 StFX vs. No. 5 Queen’s (Watch Online)

19:30 Quarter-final 4: No. 1 UBC vs. No. 8 Acadia (Fibe TV1 Channel 1/401 or Watch Online)

Friday, Nov. 11

12:00 Consolation 1: Loser QF 1 vs. Loser QF 2 (Watch Online)

14:30 Consolation 2: Loser QF 3 vs. Loser QF 4 (Watch Online)

17:00 Semifinal 1: Winner QF 1 vs. Winner QF 2 (Fibe TV1 Channel 1/401 or  Watch Online)

19:30 Semifinal 2: Winner QF 3 vs. Winner QF 4 (Fibe TV1 Channel 1/401 or  Watch Online) 

Saturday, Nov. 12

12:00 5th-place game (Watch Online)

Sunday, Nov. 13

12:00 Bronze medal (Fibe TV1 Channel 1/401 or  Watch Online)

14:30 Championship final (Fibe TV1 Channel 1/401 or  Watch Online)

 

QF #2: 2016 CIS women’s soccer championship: UOIT eliminates 2015 finalists in 1-0 OT win

WOLFVILLE, N.S. (U Sports) – After 90 minutes of regulation time, UOIT Ridgeback Shynice Williams (Mississauga, Ont.) nailed the eventual game winner in the second half of overtime to give the Ridgebacks a 1-0 overtime win over the No. 6-seeded Trinity Western Spartans.

The Ridgebacks captured the OUA championship for the first time in its program’s history and their game plan was executed to perfection.

“We had a game plan going in and we followed it to a tee. We have always prepared ourselves to 120 minutes and I think that’s what we did and that’s why we had the upper hand today,”said Adidas Player of the Game Kylie Bordeleau (Cambridge, Ont.).

“Our coaches were well prepared in letting us know where to play on the field and what to take advantage of for us to be successful and we followed it to a tee. We knew we had to play our game,” added Bordeleau.

In a tight and physical game where the defenders dominated, both teams landed one shot on goal but UOIT posted five shots in the second half and overtime with near misses throughout play.

Williams’ goal came at the hands of a defending error when a pass was deflected back to Williams who had an easy kick to win.

Trinity Western will move onto the consolation round, a different direction for the Spartans, who a year ago fell short in winning a CIS championship in a 3-0 loss to UBC.

UOIT continues to set program records with their first win at the CIS championship. Tonight’s game was a rematch of their loss to the Spartans in 2014.

UOIT will now take on Laval in game one of the semifinals on Friday. The Saskatchewan Huskies will be taking on the Spartans in the first of two consolations beginning at Noon tomorrow.

Thursday, Nov. 10

12:00 Quarter-final 1: Laval (5) vs Saskatchewan (0)

14:30 Quarter-final 2: UOIT (1) Trinity Western (0)

17:00 Quarter-final 3: No. 4 StFX vs. No. 5 Queen’s (Watch Online)

19:30 Quarter-final 4: No. 1 UBC vs. No. 8 Acadia (Fibe TV1 Channel 1/401 or Watch Online)

Friday, Nov. 11

12:00 Consolation 1: Saskatchewan vs. Trinity Western (Watch Online)

14:30 Consolation 2: Loser QF  vs. Loser QF 4 (Watch Online)

17:00 Semifinal 1: Laval vs. UOIT (Fibe TV1 Channel 1/401 or  Watch Online)

19:30 Semifinal 2: Winner QF 3 vs. Winner QF 4 (Fibe TV1 Channel 1/401 or  Watch Online) 

Saturday, Nov. 12

12:00 5th-place game (Watch Online)

Sunday, Nov. 13

12:00 Bronze medal (Fibe TV1 Channel 1/401 or  Watch Online)

14:30 Championship final (Fibe TV1 Channel 1/401 or  Watch Online)

 

 

 

QF #3: 2016 CIS women’s soccer championship: Gaels’ precision key to 1-0 win over X-Women in quarterfinal #3

 

WOLFVILLE, N.S. (U Sports) – The Queen’s Gaels showed up with a game plan and worked it pretty much to perfection in a 1-0 victory over the StFX X-Women in the third of four quarterfinal matches on day one of the CIS women’s soccer championship, Nov. 10 in Wolfville, N.S.

Fourth-year forward Tara Bartrum, one of nine Gaels in either her fourth or fifth year of eligibility, scored the game’s only goal 4:21 into the first half. 

Playing with precision and very little wasted energy, fifth-ranked Queen’s, 1-0 losers to the UOIT Ridgebacks in the OUA conference final, put AUS champion StFX back on their heels early, and ended up allowing the X-Women few offensive chances and just one shot on goal. 

Queen’s, meanwhile, had six shots on the StFX goal, and barely missed adding to their scoring total a couple of times in the second half. 

“We have a lot of good experience,” Gaels Player of the Game Laura Callender said afterward. “A lot of us were at the CIS championship last year as well.” 

Queen’s lost its quarterfinal match a year ago, and according to Callender, came to Wolfville this year determined to avoid a repeat of last year’s disappointment.

Asked if the precision Queen’s showed against StFX was their usual game, the fifth-year midfielder acknowledged, “kind of.” As a group, the Gaels “have been in a lot of playoff games. We try to be precise and efficient, not wasting any energy.” 

Callender said it was tough playing a team like StFX

“We play a lot of teams who are more direct,” she said, inferring the X-Women play a more deliberate style. However, “when we do get on offense, it gives us a lot of momentum.” 

With the win, the Gaels move on to a semifinal meeting with the winner of the UBC- Acadia quarterfinal Friday, Nov. 11 at 7:30 p.m. St. F.X. will play the loser of the UBC-Acadia game Friday at 2:30 p.m. 

Callender acknowledged Queen’s “got the start we wanted. To be playing for a medal now is great for us. We’re in a great position.” 

As for the keys to the victory, she said, “taking control of the midfield and sticking to our game plan.” The latter, she said, “is very important at this level, where there are no bad teams.” 

CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE (All times Atlantic)

Thursday, Nov. 10

12:00 Quarter-final 1: Laval (5) vs Saskatchewan (0)

14:30 Quarter-final 2: UOIT (1) Trinity Western (0)

17:00 Quarter-final 3: StFX (0) vs. Queen’s (1)

19:30 Quarter-final 4: No. 1 UBC vs. No. 8 Acadia (Fibe TV1 Channel 1/401 or Watch Online)

Friday, Nov. 11

12:00 Consolation 1: Saskatchewan vs. Trinity Western (Watch Online)

14:30 Consolation 2: StFX vs. Loser QF 4 (Watch Online)

17:00 Semifinal 1: Laval vs. UOIT (Fibe TV1 Channel 1/401 or  Watch Online)

19:30 Semifinal 2: Queen’s vs. Winner QF 4 (Fibe TV1 Channel 1/401 or  Watch Online) 

Saturday, Nov. 12

12:00 5th-place game (Watch Online)

Sunday, Nov. 13

12:00 Bronze medal (Fibe TV1 Channel 1/401 or  Watch Online)

14:30 Championship final (Fibe TV1 Channel 1/401 or  Watch Online)

 

QF #4: 2016 CIS women’s soccer championship: T-Birds edge Axewomen 1-0 in entertaining game  

 

WOLFVILLE, N.S. (U Sports) – The UBC Thunderbirds are a step closer to repeating as CIS women’s soccer champions after a hard-fought 1-0 quarterfinal victory over the host Acadia Axewomen Thursday, Nov. 10 in Wolfville.

Second-year forward Amelia Crawford (Richmond, B.C.) opened the scoring 23:31 into the first half with what would prove to be the game’s only goal. Shayla Chorney (Vancouver, B.C.) assisted on the goal.

In an entertaining contest, both teams had their share of chances, with each team managing 11 shots. Both keepers, Marlee Maracle (Oakville, Ont.) for UBC and Emma Connell (Hampton, N.S.) for Acadia, had to be on their toes and they were, with Connell recording five saves and Maracle four.

The fourth-year UBC keeper earned Player of the Game honours for her team. Fourth-year striker Meghan Earle (Mt. Pearl, N.L.) was the Axewomen Player of the Game, but it could easily have gone to any one of several of her teammates, all of whom turned in inspired performances.

Speaking following the game, Maracle acknowledged there was pressure on the T-Birds, both as the tournament’s top seed and as the defending champions.

“I definitely think we put pressure on ourselves as the defending champs,” she said. As well, “knowing we were playing the home team, and playing on their field, we dealt with the pressure really well.”

Maracle added: “This was the first time we had seen Acadia play. We wanted to play our game, treat it like any other game, and we held them off.”

To the suggestion that the Axewomen had given UNB all they could handle, Maracle said, “Absolutely. Every team here is gunning for a berth in the next round,” and that Acadia had the advantage of “playing at home, in front of their home crowd.”

Scoring a goal early “definitely helped,” she said. “We had gotten to host last year, and were able to win. We knew how Acadia was feeling. We came at them hard and fast, and stuck to our game plan.”

“Everybody on the team gave it everything they had, really emptied the tank,” fifth-year Acadia striker Kinsella Noseworthy-Smith (Wolfville, N.S.) said after the game. “I’m so proud of all of them.”

Noseworthy-Smith acknowledged the Axewomen “were expecting a faster game,” but at the same time, “nothing we weren’t able to keep up with. We expected intensity, and to have to step up. UBC brought a great game, and we had a real blast playing” (in front of an appreciative hometown crowd).

With the win, UBC advances to a semifinal matchup with the Queen’s Gaels Friday, Nov. 11 at 7:30 p.m. The Axewomen, meanwhile, will play a consolation semifinal Friday at 2:30 against a familiar opponent – the StFX X-Women, 2-1 shootout winners over Acadia in the AUS final.

“We emptied the tank tonight, and we plan to do the same thing again tomorrow,” Noseworthy-Smith said. “I know we can do it. It’s going to be fun, and we’re excited to play.”

CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE (All times Atlantic)

Thursday, Nov. 10

12:00 Quarter-final 1: Laval (5) vs Saskatchewan (0)

14:30 Quarter-final 2: UOIT (1) Trinity Western (0)

17:00 Quarter-final 3: StFX (0) vs. Queen’s (1)

19:30 Quarter-final 4: UBC (1) vs. Acadia (0) 

Friday, Nov. 11

12:00 Consolation 1: Saskatchewan vs. Trinity Western (Watch Online)

14:30 Consolation 2: StFX vs. Acadia (Watch Online)

17:00 Semifinal 1: Laval vs. UOIT (Fibe TV1 Channel 1/401 or  Watch Online)

19:30 Semifinal 2: Queen’s vs. UBC (Fibe TV1 Channel 1/401 or  Watch Online) 

Saturday, Nov. 12

12:00 5th-place game (Watch Online)

Sunday, Nov. 13

12:00 Bronze medal (Fibe TV1 Channel 1/401 or  Watch Online)

14:30 Championship final (Fibe TV1 Channel 1/401 or  Watch Online)

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