Western Mustangs upset defending champion Laval in quarterfinal action

WINNIPEG (U SPORTS) – The typical November weather in Winnipeg brought the U SPORTS Women's Soccer Championship indoors to the Subway Soccer South Complex. Quarter-final action began with the Western Mustangs upsetting the defending champion Laval Rouge et Or by a score of 1-0.

The Mustangs relied heavily on their team defence and goalkeeper to pull out a victory.

"Megan Girardi, she has been great for us the last two seasons," said Western head coach Martin Painter of his goalkeeper. "She is tough, hard-working and made some big saves for us today."

The Rouge et Or started the match strong, dictating the play for the majority of the first half.  An early scoring chance for Laval was shut down by Girardi. The defending champs continued to apply pressure with scoring opportunities coming off the feet of Kim Tremblay and Dominique Fortin but the score remained 0-0 going into halftime.

Laval carried their dominant pace of play into the second half.  First, Fortin once again found herself with space in front of the Mustangs' goal, only to see her shot stopped once again by Girardi. Moments later, Joelle Gosselin would also have her scoring opportunity stopped.

In the 85^th minute, Western midfielder Kendra Marlatt would break through the Laval defence and chip the ball up and over Laval keeper, Marie-Joelle Vandal, to finally break the deadlock and put the Mustangs up 1-0.

A late chance from Laval was once again stopped by Girardi clinching the upset victory.

Players of the Match:

Jenna White (Western)

Dominique Fortin (LavaL)

Source: USPORTS.ca