Laurier falls to defending champ Laval in CIS women’s soccer championship opener

VANCOUVER (CIS) – The reigning national champion Laval Rouge et Or opened the 2015 CIS women's soccer championship with a 1-0 win over the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks in the first of four quarterfinal matches on Thursday at UBC's Thunderbird Stadium.

A first-half goal from Laval's Lea Chastenay-Joseph proved the difference on the afternoon, as the Rouge et Or continue their quest for a second straight national title and extended their remarkable winning streak to 34 games overall dating back to their second conference match of 2014.

Just four minutes into the contest, Chastenay-Joseph made her presence felt, as she broke down the right flank and got a step on her defender inside the Laurier box. The Donnacona, Que., native let go of a bullet, but hit the right post behind Laurier goalkeeper Ashley Almeida.

Fifteen minutes later, Cynthia Turcotte almost got Laval their first of the afternoon, as she found herself with the ball and a bit of space well inside the Laurier 18-yard box. The third-year forward had a great look on her first attempt, but Almeida made a terrific stop. The rebound was even more dangerous, but Turcotte found nothing but iron, as she rang the shot off the left post.

Chastenay-Joseph finally got the Rouge et Or on the board in the 35th minute, as she raced onto a loose ball at the edge on the Laurier 18-yard box, and deftly chipped it by an onrushing Almeida. The play started off of a great play from Laval forward Joelle Gosselin, who lobbed a great ball into Chastenay-Joseph's path.

There was a scary moment for the Golden Hawks at the 38th minute, as midfielder Maxine Murchie went down following a mid-air collision deep in Laurier territory. Murchie did not return to the contest.

Laval continued to press as time wound down in the opening 45 minutes, finishing the frame with nine shot attempts to Laurier's one. However, the Golden Hawks did well to keep Laval to the outside, limiting their dangerous opportunities and keeping the deficit to 1-0 at the break.

Seventeen minutes into the second stanza, Laval had great opportunity to extend their lead – another rebound got away from Almeida after a shot from distance off the foot of Gosselin. Laval midfielder Arielle Roy-Petitclerc was in perfect position to grab the ricochet and fire, but missed the net high and wide left from in close.

Chastenay-Joseph's pace and ball skills continued to create havoc for Laurier down the right flank, but the forward wasn't able to cash in the insurance marker with Almeida and the Laurier backline standing tall.

In the 83rd minute of play, the Golden Hawks' star striker Emily Brown went down after a heavy collision with a Rouge et Or player as Laval was moving forward on a counterattack. Brown was carried off by trainers, and didn't return to the contest.

"The girls were a little bit nervous. The first game is so important because it will define if you go to the final four," said Laval head coach Helder Duarte, who on Wednesday evening was named CIS coach of the year. "You might dominate a game the whole time and have good offensive chances but one score can put things on even terms so it was very stressful at the end but the team is happy with the result.

Even with the loss, Golden Hawks head coach Barry MacLean remained impressed with his side's performance.

"I thought we performed very, very well," said MacLean. "We handled ourselves well in every position. I think we managed our game plan very well and we made one little error that cost us the goal, but I would say they were rattled and they didn't get the play they wanted to play. As the game wore on, we came into it more and more. We gave them a fright, for sure."

The Rouge et Or will now move on to play the winner of the second quarterfinal match between the Trinity Western Spartans and Cape Breton Capers in the semifinal on Saturday, November 14, with kickoff scheduled for 1:30 p.m. PST.

Wilfrid Laurier will move into the consolation round, where they'll next play the losing side between the Spartans and Capers. That match is set to begin at 11 a.m. PST on Friday, November 13.

SCORING SUMMARY:
LAV 1-0: 1
WLU: 0-0: 0

First Half
1. LAV Lea Chasternay-Joseph (1) (Joelle Gosselin), 35th minute

Second Half
(no scoring)

Goalkeepers:
LAV: Marie-Joelle Vandal (W, 0 GA, 1 save, 90:00, 1-0)
WLU: Ashley Almeida (L, 1 GA, 6 saves, 90:00, 0-1)

Team Stats
Shots: LAV 19, WLU 3
Shots on net: LAV 7, WLU 1
Corners: LAV 3, WLU 2
Offsides: LAV 4, WLU 2
Fouls: LAV 10, WLU 7
Yellow cards: LAV (Joanie L'Abbé)
Red cards: None

Players of the game:
LAV: Gabrielle Lapointe
WLU: Suzanne Boroumand

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 vs. Cape Breton (CIS-SIC.tv)
16:30 Quarter-final 3: Sherbrooke vs. Queen's (CIS-SIC.tv)
19:00 Quarter-final 4: Calgary vs. UBC (CIS-SIC.tv)

Friday, Nov. 13
11:00 Consolation 1: Wilfrid Laurier vs. Loser QF 2 (CIS-SIC.tv)
13:30 Consolation 2: Loser QF 3 vs. Loser QF 4 (CIS-SIC.tv)

Saturday, Nov. 14
11:00 5th-place game (CIS-SIC.tv)
13:30 Semifinal 1: Laval vs. Winner QF 2 (CIS-SIC.tv)
16:30 Semifinal 2: Winner QF 3 vs. Winner QF 4 (CIS-SIC.tv)

Sunday, Nov. 15
13:30 Bronze medal (CIS-SIC.tv)
16:30 Championship final (CIS-SIC.tv)

Source: CIS