Mustangs take 5th place with win over Carabins

QUEBEC CITY (CIS) – After losing their first game of the 2014 CIS women's soccer championship, the Western Mustangs won their second straight on Saturday, this time 2-0 over the Montreal Carabins, to finish the tournament in fifth place.

After a scoreless first half, Western managed to find the back of the net twice in the second 45 minutes, taking home the consolation final. The Mustangs best-ever finish at a national championship was fourth place in 2002, unable to improve the Mustangs can take appreciation in knowing they improved on last year's seventh-place finish. As for the Carabins, the 2013 silver medalists return home with a disappointing sixth place.

"It was a very close game. Montreal is a very good team. The first goal was going to be decisive and fortunately, we got that from a set piece. That gave us the confidence and we finish the game strong," said Mustangs bench boss Martin Painter after his team's last game of the tournament.

On Montreal's side, head coach Kevin McConnell was disappointed with the performance of his players this week. "The engagement in the game and the effort we put on were all right. The problem today, all game long, was the decisions the girls had to make. We often made the wrong ones."

The difference in caliber between two CIS top 10 ranked teams wasn't apparent in the opening half. The Mustangs may have had a slight advantage in terms of possession, but it was the Carabins who managed to create the better chances to score.

Carabins Kim Brûlé (Trois-Rivières, Que.) came close in the fourth and 26th minutes when in both instances she just missed the target to the right.

Western were given a golden opportunity to open the scoring in the 44th minute after being rewarded a free kick just outside the box, however, midfielder Stefanie Di Tella (Mississauga, Ont.) drilled her shot into the wall.

The Mustangs would not miss such a good opportunity twice. In the 66th minute, Tianna Deluzio (Sault Set. Marie, Ont.), struck a hard driven cross into the penalty area and after initially being blocked striker Lauren Winquist (London, Ont.) knocked the ball into the net.

Montreal were never able to produce a threatening attack, and the OUA finalists were able to add an insurance marker in the 90th minute courtesy of Di Tella.

SCORING SUMMARY:

WES 0-2: 2
MTL 0-0: 0

First Half
(no scoring)

Second Half
1. WES Lauren Winquist (1) (Stefanie Di Tella), 66th
2. WES Stephanie Di Tella (1), 90th

Goalkeepers:
WES: Tori Edgar (W, 0 GA, 4 saves, 90:00, 2-1)
MTL: Emily Beaudoin (L, 1 GA, 2 saves, 87:26, 1-2)
Marie-Michele Brule (1 GA, 0 saves, 2:34)

Team Stats
Shots: WES 7, MTL 11
Shots on net: WES 4, MTL 4
Corners: WES 2, MTL 2
Offsides: WES 1, MTL 2
Fouls: WES 14, MTL 14
Yellow cards: None
Red cards: None

Players of the game:
WES: Lauren Winquist
MTL: Laura Chenard

Source: CIS