TORONTO (CIS) – Nicole Burling’s goal in the 71st minute would be all that the host University of Toronto Varsity Blues would need as they upset the 2009 OUA champion York Lions, 1-0, in Friday’s second consolation semifinal at the CIS women’s soccer championship at Varsity Centre.

The win marks the first in Varsity Blues women’s soccer history at the national tournament. Toronto advances to Saturday’s consolation final at 6:30 p.m. where they will face the UPEI Panthers, who defeated the StFX X-Women 1-0 in the first consolation match of the afternoon. This game will be webcast live through SSN Canada (www.ssncanada.ca).

“I thought we played 90 minutes of an excellent, consistent game of soccer,” said Varsity Blues head coach Eva Havaris. “It was a great effort for the team. We are [going] after fifth place which is very credible for us and we’re very exciting about it.”

The OUA champion York Lions’ season comes to an end with a disappointing 0-2 record at their fourth CIS appearance in the last five years. The Lions were the 2007 CIS silver medalists and last appeared in the consolation round in 2005 after a 1-0 loss to the University of Victoria Vikes in the quarter-final round.

Toronto last met York in 2005 where the Lions came away with a 3-1 OUA quarter-final win on their way to their first OUA title in school history.

U of T came out strong in the first ten minutes and was rewarded with a pair of corner kicks, but was unable to convert either into a good scoring chance.

Fourth-year Lions striker Samantha Browne (Mississauga, Ont.) began York’s counter-attack with a long shot that landed in the arms of Blues goalkeeper Mary Anne Barnes (Scarborough, Ont.).

Toronto native and Lions player of the game, Nicole Markowitz, began to pressure U of T’s defenders with fast breaks down the left side, however, the Blues defensive line of Mel Bowen (West Vancouver, B.C.), Heidi Borgmann (Mississauga, Ont.) and Nav Deol (Mississauga, Ont.) was able to keep the ball to the outside of the 18-yard box.

Lions midfielder Nicole Campbell (Scarborough, Ont.) put forth a solid two-way effort, making some big defensive stops and driving the rush down the field to pressure Barnes between the pipes.

Burling (Scarborough, Ont.) looked as though she would open the scoring in the dying minutes of the first half as she sent a flurry of shots at the York net. First-year goalkeeper Sarah Fiorini (Newmarket, Ont.) and several Lions defenders were forced to dive to prevent the ball from crossing the goal line.

The Lions came out roaring in the second half with good ball control and pressure in Toronto’s end, setting up Campbell with a couple of good scoring chances midway through the frame.

However it was Toronto that capitalized on their late opportunity and with less than 20 minutes remaining in regulation, third-year defender Jackie Miklovich (Aurora, Ont.) sent a pass through to Burling who tipped it out of the air and shot it past a diving Fiorini for the game winner.

SCORING SUMMARY

Toronto: 0-1: 1
York: 0-0: 0

First Half
No scoring

Second Half
1.TOR: Nicole Burling (1) (Miklovich), 71st

Goalkeepers:
Toronto: Mary Anne Barnes (W, 0 GA, 5 saves, 90:00 mins)
York: Sarah Fiorini (L, 1 GA, 5 saves, 90:00 mins)

Shots: Toronto 10, York 8
Shots on Net: Toronto 5, York 5
Corners: Toronto 2, York 3
Offsides: Toronto 0, York 7
Fouls: Toronto 7, York 7
Yellow Cards: None
Red Cards: None

Players of the game:
Toronto: Nav Deol
York: Nicole Markowitz

CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS

Thursday, Nov. 12
Quarter-final 1: Queen’s vs. StFX (2-1 OT)
13:30 Quarter-final 2: Trinity Western vs. UPEI (1-0)
15:30 Quarter-final 3: York vs. UBC (1-2 OT)
18:30 Quarter-final 4: Montreal vs. Toronto (3-2)

Friday, Nov. 13
13:30 Consolation 1: StFX vs. UPEI (0-1)
15:30 Consolation 2: York vs. Toronto (0-1)

Saturday, Nov. 14
13:30 Semifinal 1: Queen’s vs. Trinity Western (SSN Canada webcast)
15:30 Semifinal 2: UBC vs. Montreal (SSN Canada webcast)
18:30 Consolation final: UPEI vs. Toronto (SSN Canada webcast)

Sunday, Nov. 15
14:00 Bronze medal (SSN Canada webcast)
17:00 Championship final (SSN Canada webcast)