MONTREAL – A pair of early goals was all the visiting UQAM Citadins needed en route to a 2-1 victory over McGill in the women's soccer season opener before a crowd of 591 at Percival Molson Stadium, Wednesday.

It was a key result for the Citadins, who are coming off a 7-5-2 fourth-place finish in the eight-team RSEQ conference. The Citadins were only one point in arrears of McGill, which had placed third with a 7-4-3 mark.

UQAM opened the scoring in just the fourth minute of play. A corner kick by Rosalie Dumont found sophomore midfielder Lucie Illy of France in the box for a high header that eluded Sophie Guilmette, the starting goalkeeper for McGill. Guilmette, who hails from Montreal, is a first-year NCAA transfer from Vanderbilt University.

The Citadins made it 2-0 only six minutes later, after the ball was mishandled between two McGill defenders. Rookie defender Alexandra Provencal of Laval, Que., pounced on a turnover and connected from about 10 yards in front of the goal.

Despite that disappointing start, McGill settled down when midfielder Elisabeth Pronovost, a 19-year-old science freshman from Chambly, Que., narrowed the gap to 2-1 in the 18th minute. It was her first career goal at the university level.

There was no further scoring, with the home side pressing hard and the visitors, deploying  a defensive structure to neutralize.

UQAM had an 8-6 edge in shots attempted. Lea Palacio, a 5-foot-7 senior goalkeeper from Montreal, turned away two of three shots for the victory. Guilmette, the McGill 'keeper, was credited with one save on three shots and took the loss.

A total of 18 fouls were called, including 11 by the Citadins, who were assessed three of the four yellow cards issued.

UQAM (1-0-0) is off until Sept. 9, when they play at UQTR (0-1-0).

The Martlets (0-1-0) will have a day of practice to prepare for a road game at Bishop's on Friday (Sept. 2) at 6 p.m. in a game that will be streamed on the BU website. The Gaiters, who missed the playoffs last season with a 4-8-2 fifth-place finish, opened their 2022 campaign with a scoreless draw at Concordia in a rain-soaked contest on Tuesday (Aug. 30).

MARTLET MURMURS: Stephanie Hill was wearing the captain's armband for McGill, in place of the injured Olivia Mazzarello, a 22-year-old science junior from LaSalle, Que.  Hill is a 5-foot-11 defender from Montreal who previously played for FC Pierrefonds of the Quebec provincial soccer league. A 20-year-old science junior, she is majoring in physical therapy,... McGill's roster currently totals 28 players and  features seven freshmen, seven sophomores, five juniors and nine seniors (three of which are first-year transfers from NCAA institutions).

BOXSCORE

RSEQ STATS & STANDINGS


SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012 (Tel.)
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca