Krizia Taratino, Maddie MacKay, Alessia Cusimano and Daniella Cipriano scored penalties, as the Toronto Varsity Blues defeated the Acadia Axewomen 1-0 in a shootout to claim the national women's soccer bronze medal at the 2019 U SPORTS championship in Victoria.
Schedule & Results
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The third-place finish on the national stage marks Toronto's best in program history after placing fifth at the 2009 and 2013 national tournaments.
HOW IT HAPPENED: Toronto keeper Levanta Staggolis stopped two shots as the Varsity Blues won 4-2 in penalties.
"Obviously, penalties are a little terrifying," said MacKay. "We all had so much faith in our keeper. She's incredible and we went into the penalties with a bunch of confidence. We proved that we deserved to be here as much as everyone else."
With a medal on the line, both teams started slowly, feeling each other out, keeping the ball on the ground and creating soft chances. Both goalies were forced to clean up balls in their area in the first 10 minutes though neither team had solid shots on net.
Acadia pressured Toronto into a couple of precarious turnovers in the box around the 12
th minute but were unable to capitalize on either chance. Acadia's Jenna Boudreau got her foot on a long cross early on but the eventual shot sailed high. A trio of shots came from the Varsity Blues in a 19
th minute scramble only to be blocked by Acadia bodies doing their best to alleviate the threat.
Toronto's Jenny Wolever began to find some space at the half-hour mark creating chances for Erin Kelly and Miranda Badovinac. Grace Longley had a promising individual run in the 35
th minute that tested Staggolis but stayed out of the net. An interception by Wolever in the 41
st minute resulted in a breakaway and a credible shot on net. A couple of long-range shots by the Varsity Blues looked promising in the dying moments of the half but in the end, the game remained deadlocked at zero.
Acadia came out strong in the second half registering their first shot 40 seconds in. Continued pressure by the Axewomen saw plenty of chances through free kicks and corner kicks. Toronto sustained pressure at the hour mark with Wolever's speed and footwork creating fits for the Acadia defence. A 65
th minute cross from Wolever to Badovinac created a quality opportunity that was snuffed out by Acadia keeper Sarah Charnock.
Jenna Boudreau tried to finish the game with a shot in the 83
rd minute that just grazed the post. Regulation time settled nothing as the team went straight into penalty kicks where the Varsity Blues triumphed.
The third-place finish was a positive one for MacKay, with the Vancouver native sharing the moment with her biggest supporters.
"It's fantastic (playing close to home)," said MacKay. "The only thing better than being here competing is having my family here to watch me. It was pretty incredible."
Boxscore
Nike Top Performers
Acadia: Lauren Jodrey
Toronto: Maddie MacKay
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE:
2019 U SPORTS Women's Soccer Championship
University of Victoria
(All Times Local)
Thursday, November 7
10:30am Acadia 2, York 1 Quarter-Final #1
1:00pm UBC 1, Montreal 0 Quarter-Final #2
4:00pm Toronto 3, Cape Breton 0 Quarter-Final #3
6:30pm Calgary 1, Victoria 0 Quarter-Final #4
Friday, November 8
1:30pm Montreal 2, York 0 Consolation Semifinal #1
4:00pm Victoria 1, Cape Breton 0 Consolation Semifinal #2
Saturday, November 9
12:30pm UBC 1, Acadia 0 Semifinal #1
3:00pm Calgary 3, Toronto 1 Semifinal #2
Sunday, November 10
10:00am Montreal 1, Victoria 0 Consolation Final
12:30pm Toronto 1, Acadia 0 (4-2 PK) Bronze-Medal Match
3:00pm UBC 1, Calgary 0 Gold-Medal Match
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