CONSOLATION #1: 2009 CIS women’s soccer championship: Panthers win all-AUS battle, to play for 5th

By University of Toronto sports information office

TORONTO (CIS) – Charlottetown native Carolyn McKenna scored the lone goal of the game in injury time as the UPEI Panthers downed the St. Francis Xavier X-Women 1-0 in an all-AUS consolation semi-final at the CIS women’s soccer championship, Friday afternoon.

The game was a rematch of last Sunday’s Atlantic conference final, won 2-1 in penalty kicks by StFX. The Panthers (1-1) advance to the consolation final for fifth place Saturday at 6:30 p.m., while the X-Women (0-2) end the competition in a tie for seventh position.

McKenna came off the bench late in the second half and broke the stalemate in the 93rd minute.
Sara Stewart, also of Charlottetown, sent a free kick from 30 yards out in on goal, resulting in a scramble in the six-yard box. The ball bounced loose to McKenna and the sophomore headed the ball to the back of the net for the game winner.

“I thought we played very well. We created enough chances to win the game,” said UPEI head coach Mike Redmond. “I thought that it was a good result for us.”

“Any time you go to this competition you would like to be in a medal game and we’re not,” Redmond continued. “We understand that but we also want to make sure we have a good showing so we’re going to prepare for tomorrow like it’s a final and go and try to win the game.”

The first half was dominated by UPEI, and the AUS finalists nearly took the lead after a poor pass led to a turnover in the StFX defensive end. Jennifer MacLeod of Charlottetown stole a pass, blew past a defender down the right side and sent a wonderful ball to Chelsie McInnis, but the Summerside, P.E.I., native sent the ball just over the crossbar.

The Panthers continued the attack as MacLeod got her head on a free kick that was well saved by StFX keeper Anna Thompson. The Calgary, Alta., native came up big again only moments later, tipping the ball off the right post on another header by Laura Thompson of Antigonish, N.S.

Although the Panthers outshot their AUS counterparts 4-1, they weren’t able to break the score line going into halftime.

McInnis continued to be relentless early in the second half as the third-year junior nearly touched the ball, twice, past Thompson.

After a few anxious moments, the game settled down into more of a midfield battle. Neither team was able to muster much offence and it looked as though the game was headed to overtime until McKenna’s heroics.

GAME NOTES: This is only the second appearance at the CIS soccer championship for both the Panthers and the X-Women since the inaugural tournament in 1987... UPEI went 0-1-1 in round-robin play in 2004 when six teams qualified for Nationals and ended up in a tie for fifth place... StFX went 1-2-0 en route to a sixth-place finish in the 2005, which mark the first year of the eight-team single-elimination format...

SCORING SUMMARY

UPEI: 0-1: 1
StFX: 0-0: 0

First Half
No scoring

Second Half
1. Carolyn McKenna (1) (Sara Stewart), 93rd

Goalkeepers:
UPEI: Anna Roy (W, 0 GA, 2 save, 90:00 mins)
StFX: Anna Thompson (L, 1 GA, 4 saves, 90:00 mins)

Shots: StFX 8, UPEI 10
Shots on Net: StFX 2, UPEI 4
Corners: StFX 2, UPEI 5
Offsides: StFX 0, UPEI 5
Fouls: StFX 14, UPEI 7
Yellow Cards: None
Red Cards: None

Players of the game:
UPEI: Carolyn McKenna
StFX: Eugenia Renderos

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
15:30 Consolation 2: York vs. Toronto (SSN Canada webcast)

Saturday, Nov. 14
13:30 Semifinal 1: Queen’s vs. Trinity Western (SSN Canada webcast)
15:30 Semifinal 2: UBC vs. Montreal (SSN Canada webcast)
18:30 Consolation final (5th-place match): UPEI vs. TBD (SSN Canada webcast)

Sunday, Nov. 15
14:00 Bronze medal (SSN Canada webcast)
17:00 Championship final (SSN Canada webcast)

- CIS -