Banner Season: Extra time and penalty kicks determine the fate of all four semifinalists
London, Ont. - Day one of the 2018 OUA Women’s Soccer Final Four brought on plenty of extra time for all four teams.
The day started with a meeting between the Ottawa Gee-Gees and McMaster Marauders.
Both teams managed plenty of pressure in the first half, but neither side was able to find the scoresheet. It wasn’t until the second half when both teams exchanged goals.
At the 62:00 mark, Mikayla Morton opened the scoring for the Gee-Gees to take a 1-0 lead. Seven minutes later, the Marauders would respond with a goal from Jade Smith to even the game at one goal apiece.
That tying marking would be enough to send the game to overtime, where both sides picked up the offensive pressure. Ottawa would total six shots, while McMaster had three of their own, but neither side were able to covert on those opportunities. In the second extra frame, both sides had two offerings, but again couldn't find the back of the net, sending this one to penalty kicks.
In the shootout, Ottawa’s Thea Abdul Nour would score on her first kick. McMaster’s Dana Bally and Stephanie Roberts missed their attempts, as did Ottawa’s Delaney Rickert-Hall and Miranda Smith. McMaster would score on both of their next two kicks from Talia Merino-Sierra and Hannah Chau-Stacey, respecively, while their counterparts from the nation's capital would get a pair of their own from Mikayla Morton and Lauren Da Luz.
The game came down to Grace Grafham, but her shot went off the post to end the thrilling game in a 2-1 final in favour of the Gee-Gees. With the win, Ottawa has punched their ticket to Sunday's gold medal game. McMaster will play for bronze.
In the evening match, it was the Western Mustangs who got set to face the Queen’s Gaels on their home confines of Mustangs Field.
Like so many of the Mustangs’ games this season, the matchup against the Gaels proved to be a back-and-forth affair from the opening minute, with neither team earning a shot on goal through much of the first half. The game remained a defensive showdown until the final whistle in the half, as the game remained deadlocked at 0-0.
The defensive theme continued until midway through the half, where fifth-year striker Julia Crnjac capped off her return to action with the first goal of the game to give the Mustangs the momentum. Crnjac’s goal allowed Western to gamble and put additional pressure on the Queen’s defence, but that pressure also left the Mustangs vulnerable to the playmaking of the Gaels’ Jenny Wolever. The OUA's East Division MVP set up teammate Sarah Nixon perfectly to tie the game at 1-1 to force an overtime period.
The Gaels wasted no time in the extra frame, as Kelsie McGinn scored off a turnover in front of the Mustangs’ net to take the 2-1 lead early in overtime. However, Crnjac continued to add to her storied return, scoring once again to tie the game at 2-2 just minutes later to give the purple and white life once more.
The game remained tied into the second half of overtime, until Anna Larkin scored to give Western the 3-2 leadm and eventually the victory, midway through the half, as they earned their way to the gold-medal match with an incredible effort from the entire roster.
The final matches will take to the field on Sunday with Western facing Ottawa in the gold medal game at 2:00pm and Queen's playing McMaster for bronze at 11:00am. The bronze medal game also holds further significance for the participants with a spot at nationals on the line. Since Ottawa, who has earned a spot for their participation in the gold medal, is hosting this years U SPORTS championship, their host berth will now fall to the winner of the Gaels and Marauders
