TROIS RIVIÈRES, Que. -- Claudia Agozzino of St. Leonard, Que., scored the game-winner on a penalty-kick as McGill defeated the Université de Québec à Trois-Rivières 3-1 in RSEQ women's soccer on a rain-soaked Stade Gilles-Doucet, Thursday.

Agozzino connected on a second-half penalty, drawn by nursing senior Lisa Perrett of Vancouver.

Sophomore Mary Jardin, a 4-foot-11 midfielder from Richmond, B.C., tallied the only goal of the first half when she intercepted a UQTR defensive play and struck the ball just under the crossbar from 22 yards out.

"We were in very good control, moving the ball around," said Martlets head coach Jose-Luis Valdes of his team's performance. "With the rain, the ball was bouncing quite a bit but we still managed to avoid putting ourselves in risky situations during the first half. After the break, we maintained rhythm, were better moving the ball and much faster getting behind their defenders. We could see they were tiring and we just maintained our pressure."

Daphnee Morency, the team's high-scoring striker from Boulder, Col., increased the lead to 3-0 when she cut through two defenders to put the ball on target. Her shot beat the 'keeper and deflected off a Patriotes defender before finding the back of the net.

UQTR got one back towards the end of the game after Martlets goalkeeper Cassandra Fafalios was issued a yellow card after an unsuccessful challenge on a loose ball with Patriotes striker Émilie Savard, who took the shot and ended the McGill 'keeper's bid for a shutout.

"Generally speaking we're pretty happy with the game," assessed Valdes. "Something a little different today was that we had a few freshmen who started and a couple of (vets) who hadn't started any games yet, and they did quite well. In particular, this was the first game that freshmen Elise Lacoste and Nathalie Brunelle started and they looked like anybody else on the field. They were clean, confident and good."

Fafalios, a political science senior from Richmond Hill, Ont., made five stops to earn the win. Patriotes 'keeper Sophie Gervais of St-Hyacinthe, Que., turned away seven shots in a losing cause.

The Martlets maintained 55 per cent possession and had a 14-10 edge in free kicks.

Both sides return to action on Sept. 25, when McGill (2-1-1) visits undefeated Laval (4-0-0) and UQTR (0-5-0) takes on Montreal (3-0-0).

FOR MORE INFO CONTACT:
Kirsten Whelan or Earl Zukerman
McGill Sports Info Office
(514) 398-7012