Kingston, ON - The defending national champions Montreal Carabins and STFX X-Women braved the cold on Thursday morning for the opening game of the U SPORTS Women's Soccer Championship. Montreal came away with the 2-0 win after a hard-fought battle on both ends.
The Carabins opemed the scoring early with a goal from Mia Tessier after only 32 seconds of play. From there, both teams settled into the game and swapped shots on goal.
STFX found the back of the net in the 32nd minute as Amanda Smith knocked in a rebound after Emma's Steen's shot hit the post, but the goal was called offside.
The end of the first looked troubling for the X-Women; however, their keeper Christina Gentile showed remarkable poise to keep the Carabins' multiple shots and corner attempts at bay. The first half ended with Montreal up 1-0.
In the second, Montreal had five corner attempts, but the STFX defense shut them down each time.
Finally, in the 72nd minute, Montreal tallied another. Erika Bastien, one of Montreal's leading scorers this season, found the back of the net after heading in a corner kick from Lorie Thibault.
Although STFX kept up their pressure to the final call, they couldn't convert for a goal and Montreal finished on top 2-0.
With this win, Montreal advances to the semi-final round to face UBC.
The X-Women are now relegated to the consolation semifinal where they will play Ottawa on Friday morning at 11:00 am EST.
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Nike Players of the Game:
Montreal – Mia Tessier
StFX – Brynn Jurus
Recap courtesy Sarah Maat, Queen's Athletics
