MONTREAL -- On Seniors Day, when the McGill University women's soccer team was planning on paying tribute to their graduating class prior to kickoff, it was a sophomore who stole the show.
The Martlets had to manage a mini-crisis earlier this week and came away smelling like roses. Both goalkeepers were dealing with nagging injuries and not quite ready to suit up for the two final league games before playoffs, so head coach
Jose-Luis Valdes asked for a volunteer to play between the pipes. He didn't know what to expect but three hands were raised and Valdes placed his chips on
Giuliana Quattrochi, a reserve forward.
On Sunday, the 5-foot-5 Montrealer earned her second victory in as many starts, leading McGill to a 2-1 decision over visiting Laval at Percival Molson Stadium, extending the team's undefeated streak to 5-0-1. Two days earlier, in her first career start, the 21-year-old physical education major posted a 3-0 shutout at Sherbrooke. Over the two games, she allowed just one goal and was credited with one save.
The game at last-place Sherbrooke might have been an easy one but Sunday's game against Laval was against foe that has long-dominated McGill and third-place in the RSEQ standings was on the line.
"If it was a playoff game, we probably would have one of our 'keepers ready to go but since it was not, we decided to go back to Quattrochi, as it also forced our defenders to play tighter," explained Coach Valdes. "I'm not sure but I don't think that she had played in goal during her high school and CEGEP years at Vanier College. She told me that she felt okay with playing in nets because she is a PhysEd student and has had to learn a number of different sports. She was tested on a couple of crosses but played them pretty well."
Six minutes into the second half, Laval took a 1-0 lead when Quattrochi was beaten by
Cynthia Gaspar-Freire, that emanated from a corner kick.
"We played that poorly and were basically spectators on that play," said Valdes. "We started poorly but had a strong second half. I was happy with that and we were able to make a number of substitutions to get player ready for the upcoming playoffs."
McGill tied the game at 1-1 in the 67th minute when Giovanna Tiberio converted a corner kick from
Alexia Remillard. About 15 minutes later, Alexia Remillard headed in a free kick that was taken by Remillard.
'Keeper
Sarah-Eve Caron made six saves in a losing cause for Laval.
Prior to the opening whistle, the coaching staff paid tribute to midfielder
Olivia Trotter, a nursing major from Victoria, B.C., who is their their only graduating player.
"She's been a great team player, both on ond off the field," said Valdes. "A genuine good person but she had two difficult time with injuries in her sophomore and junior years. She had a good rookie season and a strong senior, so i'm very happy for her to be going out that way."
Both McGill and Laval finished with an identical 9-4-1 record but the Rouge et Or had a better head-to-head differential (+2) and was awarded third place. They will travel to play the second-place Montreal Carabins in a sudden-death semifinal next Sunday. McGill will head to the east end of the city to confront the division-leading UQAM Citadins.
BOXSCORE
2019 RSEQ WOMEN'S UNIVERSITY SOCCER FINAL STANDINGS
(14-game reg. season; Top 4 teams qualify for playoffs)
SoccerMeter for iPad Game Data
| McGill |
Game Total |
Laval |
| 2 |
Goals |
1 |
| 10 |
Shots On Goal |
2 |
| 2 |
Missed Shot Attempts |
9 |
| 83 |
% Shot Attempts On Goal |
18 |
| 17 |
% Shot Attempts Scored |
9 |
| 43:17 |
Time of Possession |
46:43 |
| 48% |
Time of Possession % |
52% |
| 546 |
First Touches |
581 |
| 7.9 |
Average Time of a Possession (sec) |
8.4 |
| 283 |
Passes |
317 |
| 52% |
Pass Completion % |
55% |
| 10 |
Number of Pass Strings |
17 |
| 5.4 |
Average Pass String Length |
5.6 |
| 8 |
Longest Pass String |
7 |
| 3 |
Corner Kicks |
6 |
| 7 |
Fouls Committed |
9 |
| 1 |
Goalkeeper Saves |
6 |
| 50 |
Goalkeeper Save % |
75 |
Scoring Summary
Goalkeepers
Cards
Players of the Game
