| Last updated at 1:29 AM on 13/11/09 |
Panthers fall to defending CIS champions 
Trinity Western strikes for the only goal needed to win the women's quarter-final game
GORD ANDERSON
Special to The Guardian
TORONTO — Alicia Tesan scored the lone goal as the Trinity Western Spartans edged the UPEI Panthers 1-0 in quarter-final action at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport women’s soccer championships at Varsity Stadium.
The Panthers will now face Atlantic University Sport conference foe St. F.X. X-Women in today’s consolation round for a shot at the fifth-place game Saturday night.
The X-Women, who defeated the Panthers 2-1 in the AUS?final last Sunday, lost their quarter-final game 2-1 in overtime to the UBC?Thunderbirds.
The Spartans, the 2008 CIS champions, held a huge advantage in ball possession during the first half, keeping UPEI pinned down in its own zone.
UPEI keeper Chanelle Roy said that was part of the game plan.
“We changed our normal formation and I thought we were very successful in the back (today),” Roy said. “They had a hard time splitting (our back four).”
Coach Mike Redmond agreed.
“We knew they were a possession team,” Redmond said. “Our idea coming in was to sit a little bit deeper and cut off certain areas of the field. We gave away a lot of possession but possession doesn’t score goals.”
It did in the 27th minute as Tesan headed home a cross from Melissa Mobilio that eluded Roy.
“(The goal] was a measured cross that wasn’t picked up at the back post,” Redmond said.
The Panthers created two legitimate chances in the game.
Jennifer MacLeod passed up a shot from 10 yards out in the first 45 and, early in the second, Tessa Roche’s free kick grazed the base of the right post.
A hit crossbar and a two saves by Roy kept the score 1-0 but the Panthers’ offensive philosophy, which is based on winning battles for ball possession, wasn’t working against the strong keep away skills of the Spartans.
“We’re not used to having a team that can control the ball,” Roy said. “It’s a totally different game (out west).”
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CIS women’s soccer championship in Toronto:
Thursday
Quarter-Finals
Queen’s 1 Dalhousie 0 OT
Trinity Western 1 UPEI 0
UBC?2 York 1 OT
Montreal 3 Toronto 2
———
Today
Consolation
2:30 p.m., St. F.X. vs. UPEI
4:30 p.m., York vs. Toronto
———
Saturday
Semifinals
2:30 p.m., Queen’s vs. Trinity Western
4:30 p.m., UBC?vs. Montreal
Fifth-Place Game
7:30 p.m., St. F.X.-UPEI?winner
———
Sunday
3 p.m., bronze-medal game
6 p.m., gold-medal game
(all times AT)
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