Golden Hawks take down Mustangs in penalty kicks to earn women's soccer title
“It’s great,” said head coach Barry MacLean on capturing the OUA Championship. “Honestly we’re still going through a rebuilding phase with our program, to be at this level right now is fantastic. I thought today on balance of the game we were deserving of [the title].”
The two teams met on the pitch to determine who would take this year’s provincial title after both squads defeated their Semi-Final opponents on penalty kicks on Friday. Given that Western and Laurier finished 1-2 in the OUA West regular season standings it was no surprise that Sunday’s final proved to be a tightly played affair with neither team being able to solve the other through 120 minutes of action.
Laurier claimed its seventh OUA title in school history after Kelsey Tikka (Thunder Bay, Ont.), Jacqueline Lence (Mississauga, Ont.), and Sarah Farano (Oakville, Ont.) all scored in the shootout.
Earlier in the day the Queen’s Gaels won the Bronze Medal after edging out the Carleton Ravens 4-2 on penalty kicks.
Micah Vermeer (Grimsby, Ont.), Alexis McKinty (Burlington, Ont.), Alex Blanchard (North Vancouver), and Tara Bartram (Vancouver) all scored in the shootout to clinch third place for the Gaels while Abby Nicastro (Ottawa) and Elizabeth MacDougall (Carleton Place, Ont.) countered for the Ravens.
This year’s Final Four was a showcase of defence and goalkeeping as all four games required penalty kicks to decide a winner after no goals were scored in full 11-on-11 play.
With the Final Four now in the books both Western and Laurier will advance to next weekend’s CIS Women’s Soccer Championship, hosted by the University of Toronto from November 7-10.
Source: Western Sports Info