HALIFAX, Nova Scotia – The No. 7 Trinity Western Spartans quest for a sixth national title came to an end Thursday morning when the Spartans fell 1-0 (5-4 in penalty kicks) to No. 2 Laval Rouge et Or in the first quarter-final of the U SPORTS championship Thursday morning at Wickwire Field in Halifax, N.S. The match took six rounds of penalty kicks to be decided after neither team was able to find the back of the net after 90 minutes of regulation and 30 minutes of overtime.
The teams were evenly matched throughout the contest, with both teams having quality chances and runs in the final third. The Spartans finished the match with an 8-4 edge in total shots and a 5-2 edge in shots on goal.
TWU second-year keeper
Yasmine Pahal (Surrey, B.C.) made two saves in the loss. While Laval's Anne-Marie Laraoche made five saves in the Rouge et Or victory. Pahal made one save in the penalty kicks, while Laraoche stopped TWU's final two shots to secure the win for the Rouge et Or.
UP NEXT
With the loss the No. 7 Spartans will now face the loser of the match between the No. 6 Victoria Vikes and the No. 3 Ottawa Gee-Gees. The match will be hosted by Dalhousie, in Halifax, N.S. and be played November 8 at 11 a.m. (AT) at Wickwire Field in Halifax.
QUOTABLE
TWU head coach Graham Roxburgh
"I just gutted for my players. They played their hearts out in a game that didn't have a lot of flow. I thought Laval went more direct than we thought they would, but some of that's our pressing. We didn't really pass the ball well today and there was no real good flow to the game, but I thought we did enough to deserve better, but when you come down to a penalty shootout, it's just one or two inches."
"I'm super proud of our girls, and proud of the girls that took penalties. Sometimes you win those penalty shootouts. But today wasn't our day. But I'm really proud of the character we showed and the resilience that they showed over the course of the last three to four weeks to be here."
NOTABLE
- TWU finished with a 10-7 edge in corner kicks.
- Laval committed 13 fouls to TWU's seven.
- Today's match was the sixth time TWU played against Laval at the U SPORTS championship. The Spartans are now 4-2 lifetime against the Rouge et Or.
- In their last meeting the Spartans defeated Rouge et Or 3-0 at last season's in the U SPORTS semifinals.
- Prior to today TWU's lone loss to Laval was 5-0 in the 2014 U SPORTS gold medal match.
- Also competing at the national championship are the No. 1 UBC Thunderbirds, the No. 4 Cape Breton Capers, the No. 5 Nipissing Lakers, and the host No. 8 Dalhousie Tigers.
- In their 15 previous championships TWU has competed in gold medal match 10 times, winning five times.
- The Spartans last championship victory was in 2013 when they defeated Montreal 1-0 in the final.
- Since 2004 this is TWU's 16th U SPORTS championship appearance, and their fourth straight.
- With the match going to penalty kicks the game is officially recorded as a tie.
- Today's match was TWU head coach Graham Roxburgh's 500 match (317-121-62) with the Spartans since joining Canada West in 2001.
About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 13 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey, cross country, and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes as an independent team in men's rugby. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 14 U SPORTS team championships and 34 Canada West team championships.
About Trinity Western University
Recognized for quality, TWU has received seven consecutive A+ rankings for Quality of Teaching and Learning, holds three Canada Research Chairs, and wins national championships in U SPORTS. More importantly, lives are changed at TWU through its whole-person, Christ-centred approach to education. With a wide array of undergraduate, graduate, and adult degree-completion programs, TWU equips leaders of character and competence to make a positive impact in the lives of others.
-TW-
