QUEBEC CITY – For the second straight year, Laval denied UBC a shot at a U SPORTS medal in penalty kicks as the host Rouge et Or came out on top 5-4 in a shootout to advance to a semifinal on Friday while the Thunderbirds will now face the York Lions on the consolation side of the championship bracket.
Tied 1-1 through 90 minutes, the T-Birds were clearly the more dominant side in extra time but just couldn't find the go ahead goal forcing the game to a shootout where Laval keeper Myriam Labrecque made a key stop to send their fans at Stade Telus into a frenzy as the eighth seeded Rouge et Or scored the upset of the season.
"I think we were just one or two steps off in that second phase and unfortunately it just didn't quite bounce in the right spot for us," said UBC Head Coach Jesse Symons shortly after the stunning result. "No doubt the players pushed so hard and did everything they possibly could. Unfortunately we couldn't end it during regulation at the end of the second half and in overtime as we started to really get after them."
It was pretty well a dream start for the T-Birds with Sophie Damian scoring just four minutes in. Off a Dakota Chan throw-in, Katalin Tolnai headed the ball to the side of the six-yard box where Damian deftly took it off the bounce and knocked it in with her left foot to get quiet the sizeable crowd.
But from that point onward in the opening half it was the eight seeded Rouge et Or who dominated possession, generating a number of chances, forcing UBC keeper Sarah Johns to make six saves in the first 45 minutes, keeping the 'Birds up by a goal at the half.
Eerily similar to UBC's start to the game, Laval got on the board early in the second half. In the 48th, Catherine Fortier headed it in off a Daphnee Blouin cross as the stadium erupted.
The leveling goal seemed to spur the T-Birds into action as it was UBC who controlled the rest of the game, earning a series of corners and several quality chances, but they just couldn't manage to finish and re-take the lead.
Extra time saw a continuation of a decided edge in UBC's favour, but 116 minutes after Damian's opening tally, the 'Birds were unable to find another, forcing the fate-sealing shootout.
"We got the early goal and then they came on and we knew they would and they were better in the first half for sure," added Symons. "Them scoring early in the second half woke us up and I felt that changed the game and we started to push and changed some structural things and really got after them. It's just unfortunate the way we lost on penalties. Everyone who shot is so brave, I have so much respect and I'm so proud of all of them. When it gets down to penalties it's a flip of the coin and unfortunately they've won two flips of the coin in the last two years against us."
Last year saw Laval defeat the 'Birds on penalties in the bronze medal match in Sydney, Nova Scotia. The Rouge et Or also denied UBC gold in 2016 when they defeated the T-Birds 2-1 in regulation.
This quarter-final loss now pushes the T-Birds into the consolation bracket where they'll face the York Lions at 10:30 a.m. PT Friday with a spot in Saturday's fifth-place game on the line. The Lions were edged 1-0 by the Cape Breton Capers earlier Thursday.
"This team loves playing together and they want to play for each other game in, game out and they'll do that tomorrow for sure," said Symons of how his team will approach the rest of the tournament now that gold is out of reach. "I'm so proud, what a season. One penalty kicks doesn't define this group at all. We'll regroup, we have such great depth, and we'll get after York tomorrow and hopefully get a fifth-place game on Saturday."
