SEMIFINAL #1 CIS women’s soccer championship: TWU avenges 2014 loss to Laval, advances to record fourth straight final

VANCOUVER (CIS) – For a record fourth time in a row, the Trinity Western Spartans will play in the CIS women's soccer championship after defeating the Laval Rouge et Or 2-1 (9-8 on kicks) in the first semifinal at Thunderbird Stadium Saturday afternoon. The result ended Laval's 34-match undefeated streak.

The Spartans, who avenged a lopsided 5-0 loss to Laval in last year's national final, will play for gold Sunday at 4:30 p.m., Pacific. The Rouge et Or, who was undefeated in 34 consecutive games overall dating back to their second outing of the 2014 schedule, will battle for bronze at 1:30 p.m., Sunday afternoon.

Saturday's drama-filled match went to the 10th round of kicks before a victor could be determined. With TWU leading 9-8, and Laval's Laurier Pouliot taking the kick, Spartans goalkeeper Ally Williamson dove to her right to knock the ball off the outside of the goalpost to send her team to the CIS title game.

Williamson scored herself in the third round of the shootout, and then saved the next attempt, from Laurie Couture-Dallaire. However, TWU's Vanessa Kovacs had her fourth-round kick saved to even the score. The next 12 players converted their chances before Williamson's save.

"[It's] unbelievable to be honest. This is pretty sweet, isn't it?" said Graham Roxburgh, Trinity Western's head coach. "I don't want to take anything away from Laval, I thought they were excellent. We were a bit in fumes toward the end and Laval pressed, but I thought we dealt with their weapons well. It was a hard-fought game between two good teams, sometimes you come out with the win."

The drama wasn't confined to the session of kicks. Laval tied the game 1-1 with seconds to spare. In the final moments of a four-minute span of injury time, the Rouge et Or had a free kick from about 40 yards out. Striker Joelle Gosselin sent the ball into the box, where Arielle Roy-Petitclerc headed it past Williamson to tie it up right before the final whistle and send it to extra time.

"It was a good game. I think we could have been the winners at the end of the game," said Laval head coach Helder Duarte. "The game tomorrow is very important as it is for third place. We will put in a good effort and try to win the game."

Laval, the defending champions and RSEQ champions, had only allowed seven goals coming into the match, scoring 46 in their 14-game conference season. Trinity Western, the Canada West finalists who lost to the UBC Thunderbirds 1-0 to finish with the silver medal, were looking for their fourth consecutive appearance in the CIS final.

There was no shortage of action in the first semifinal. In the beginning, it was Laval who controlled possession. The high-powered offence of the Rouge et Or would push constantly against Trinity Western's defence, but the back four and goalkeeper Ally Williamson stood tall, eliminating any major threats.

In the 15th minute, Trinity Western was awarded a free kick just outside the 18-yard box on the right side for Krista Gommeringer. She sent it into the box like she would a corner and it would deflect off a Laval defender and past 'keeper Marie-Joelle Vandal to give the Spartans 1-0 advantage. It was only the eighth goal against Laval all season.

Not used to playing from behind, Laval continued to press with long, strong shots from far out. In the 28th minute, Gosselin sent a bullet toward Williamson, but she confidently grabbed it.

In the 37th minute, Gommeringer almost snuck behind the defence for a clean break on Vandal but Marie-Christine Gauthier cut off the attack to keep the Spartans ahead by one. At the end of the first half, it was 1-0 with shots favouring the Rouge et Or 5-1, and shots on goal also favouring Laval 3-1.

The second half was a rough, intense affair between the two high-powered teams. A high kick foul was called against the Rouge et Or, resulting in a free kick in the 48th minute for the Spartans. The Spartans capitalized on their first free kick from just outside the box, but Laval was able to shut down the offence and clear it away. Gosselin had an opportunity the other way shortly thereafter, but the Spartans' defence kicked the ball away from harm.

In the 51st minute, Trinity Western's Jenaya Robertson sent a hard shot towards the net from about 25 yards out, making Vandal dive, but it just squeezed by the right post. A hard tackle at just shy of midfield against Trinity Western resulted in Gauthier, Laval's captain, receiving a yellow card in the 55th minute.

With time winding down, Laval began to add more pressure. In the 60th minute Laval sent a cross into the box and Gosselin was able to get her head on the ball, but it went just over the crossbar.

In the second half of extra time, in the 106th minute, Gosselin had excellent position in Trinity Western's box but couldn't get a substantial shot off, sending it wide. Nothing would be solved in extra time and this one would go to penalty kicks, where Trinity Western would be victorious in the 10th round.

"I can't even think about tomorrow's final," Roxburgh said. "I need to take a deep breath, I probably lost one or two years there."

SCORING SUMMARY:
TWU: 1-0-0-0: 1 (9-7 kicks)
LAV: 0-1-0-0: 1

First Half:
1. TWU Own goal – Laval, 15th minute

Second Half:
2. Arielle Roy-Petitclerc (Marie-Christine Gauthier), 90th minute

Extra Time (2 x 15 mins - no golden goal)
(no scoring)

Kicks:
TWU Stephanie Chin – GOAL
LAV Melissa Roy – GOAL
TWU Nicole Bolder – GOAL
LAV Roxanne Dionne – GOAL
TWU Ally Williamson – GOAL
LAV Laurie Couture-Dallaire – SAVED (Williamson)
TWU Vanessa Kovacs – SAVED (Vandal)
LAV Cynthia Turcotte – GOAL
TWU Alessandra Oliverio – GOAL
LAV Lara Vaillancourt – GOAL
TWU Krista Gommeringer – GOAL
LAV Carole-Anne Fortin – GOAL
TWU Isabella Di Trocchio – GOAL
LAV Arielle Roy-Petitclerc – GOAL
TWU Lindsey Pulice – GOAL
LAV Marie-Christine Gauthier – GOAL
TWU Quinn Hardstaff – GOAL
LAV Gabrielle Lapointe – GOAL
TWU Amy Gartke – GOAL
LAV Laurier Pouliot – SAVE (Williamson)

Goalkeepers:
TWU Ally Williamson: (W, 1 GA, 6 saves, 120:00, 2-0)
LAV Marie-Joelle Vandal: (L, 1 GA, 2 saves, 120:00, 1-1)

Team Stats
Shots: LAV 20, TWU 4
Shots on net: LAV 7, TWU 3
Corners: LAV 1, TWU 0
Offsides: TWU 3, LAV 2
Fouls: LAV 19, TWU 13
Yellow cards: LAV (Marie-Christine Gauthier, Carole-Anne Fortin), TWU (Stephanie Chin)
Red cards: None

Players of the game:
TWU: Stephanie Chin
LAV: Gabrielle Lapointe

SCHEDULE & RESULTS (all times PACIFIC TIME)

Thursday, Nov. 12
11:00 Quarter-final 1: Laval 1, Wilfrid Laurier 0
13:30 Quarter-final 2: Trinity Western 2, Cape Breton 0
16:30 Quarter-final 3: Sherbrooke 2, Queen's 1 (4-3 kicks)
19:00 Quarter-final 4: UBC 1, Calgary 0

Friday, Nov. 13
11:00 Consolation 1: Cape Breton 2, Wilfrid Laurier 0
13:30 Consolation 2: Queen's 1, Calgary 0 (4-2 kicks)

Saturday, Nov. 14
11:00 5th-place game: Queen's 2, Cape Breton 1 (4-2 kicks)
13:30 Semifinal 1: Trinity Western 2, Laval 1 (9-8 kicks)
16:30 Semifinal 2: Sherbrooke vs. UBC (CIS-SIC.tv)

Sunday, Nov. 15
13:30 Bronze medal: Laval vs. TBD (CIS-SIC.tv)
16:30 Championship final: Trinity Western vs. TBD (CIS-SIC.tv)