The defending champion Montréal Carabins defeated the STFX X-Women, 2-0, on Thursday in a chilly opening game at the 2023 U SPORTS Women's Soccer Championship in Kingston. The Carabins came away with the shutout after a hard-fought battle on both ends.
The sixth-seeded Carabins started the scoring early with a goal from Mia Tessier after only 32 seconds. From there, both teams settled into the game and swapped shots on goal and STFX even found the back of the net, but their apparently goal was disallowed for being offside.
The end of the first half 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, keeping the score 1-0 for the Carabins.
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 a pass from Lorie Thibault.
Although the third-seeded X-Women kept up their pressure to the final whistle, they couldn't convert for a goal and Montreal finished on top 2-0.
With this win, Montreal advances to the semifinal round, and the next step in their title defence will see them play either Ottawa or UBC on Friday at 4 p.m. Eastern. The X-Women will have a consolation game on Friday at 11 a.m.
Nike Team players of the game:
- Montreal: Mia Tessier
- STFX: Brin Jurus