FISU GAMES: CANADIAN WOMEN’S SOCCER QUALIFIES FOR QUARTER-FINALS WITH WIN
 |
| Daniela Gerig - Freestyle Photgraphy |
WOMEN’S SOCCER
MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2011
FISU GAMES
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FISU GAMES: CANADIAN WOMEN’S SOCCER QUALIFIES FOR QUARTER-FINALS WITH WIN
SHENZHEN, China (CIS) – In large part due to two first half goals and a strong defensive stand, the Canadian women’s soccer team qualified for the quarter-finals with a convincing 3-0 win over Taiwan in front of a boisterous crowd at the 26th Summer Universiade.
STATISTICS: CAN vs. TAI
Follow all of the Trinity Western athletes at the FISU Games at www.gospartans.ca and on Twitter @TWUSpartans
Canada (2-0-1) – which includes Trinity Western’s Natalie Boyd (Surrey, B.C.), Melissa Mobilio (Coquitlam, B.C.), Nikki Wright (Cloverdale, B.C.) and Daniela Gerig (Langley, B.C.), as well as head coach Graham Roxburgh and goalie and video coach Neil Turner – needed a win or a tie in their final group A match to assure themselves a spot in the quarter-finals. Their next match will be on Wednesday when they face an opponent yet to be determined.
“We asked the team yesterday that we needed to come out with a big performance, and that is exactly what they did tonight, we had all the momentum,” said Team Canada head coach Graham Roxburgh. “Taiwan worked hard, but our defence, particularly our centreback, did all the work to impede their ability to score.”
Determined to control their destiny, the team wearing red and white didn’t waste any time getting on the score sheet. Their strategy proved fruitful, as the Canadians scored two goals in the first 13 minutes.
Benefiting from a pass from Jasmine Wright, captain Alyssa Lagonia of Kitchener, Ont., fired a shot and beat keeper Mingjung Tsai to open the scoring in the eighth minute. Only five minutes later, Gerig, was tackled hard in the box, resulting in a penalty kick for the Canucks. Andréanne Gagné of St-Hyacinthe, Que., took advantage of the opportunity, burying her strike for her second goal in three games at the tournament, being Tsai to the left side to put Canada ahead 2-0.
“We were moving the ball well and as a unit we are getting much better match after match,” added Gagné, a member of the Vert & Or at the University of Sherbrooke. “We have passed an important stage at this tournament, and we have a lot of confidence moving forward. We have three more games to play, and we will have success if we play our style in them.”
After Taiwan had two scoring chances in the second half, Gillian Baggot, an Ottawa native, potted a header on a Gagné corner kick to triple the Canadians lead and put the match in the bag.
Team Canada website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/universiade/summer
2011 Summer Universiade website: http://www.sz2011.org/Universiade
About the Summer Universiade
The Summer Universiade is an international multi-sport event that takes place every two years and is second only to the Olympic Games in the number of participating athletes and countries. Close to 9,000 athletes from over 150 countries will compete in Shenzhen. The Universiade is open to competitors who are at least 17 and less than 28 years of age as of January 1 in the year of the Games. Participants must be full-time students at a post-secondary institution (university, college, CEGEP) or have graduated from a post-secondary institution in the year preceding the event.
-CIS-
Last Updated: 2011-08-15
Email: Mark.Janzen@twu.ca