TROIS-RIVIERES, QUE – Defender Ariel Carignan, a senior from Sherbrooke, Que., drew assists on a pair of early goals for a late-arriving team and that proved to be the difference as McGill tripled the UQTR Patriotes 3-1 in RSEQ women's university soccer, Thursday.
 
The result extended McGill's undefeated streak to 1-0-3, while the cellar-dwelling Patriotes winless streak now sits at 0-3-1. The Martlets are 8-0-3 against UQTR since the last loss, a 2-1 decision on Sept. 1, 2017.
 
"We left from (our campus) around 2:30 p.m. for an expected two-hour trip but the traffic leaving Montreal was ridiculous and we arrived in Trois-Rivieres just 45 minutes before kickoff instead of the usual hour and 45 minutes," said Martlets head coach Jose-Luis Valdes, whose troops were sporting their spiffy new road uniforms for the first time this season. "So we had an extremely different pre-game preparation but all of the work had been done in terms of strategy in our last practice and our pre-game pep talk was short and sweet."
 
Despite the tardy arrival, McGill tallied twice in the first 13 minutes. Megan Tessier, an education freshman from Longueuil, Que., made her first start after rehabbing from two knee injuries suffered during her CEGEP career. The 5-foot-6 midfielder found the back of the net just four minutes into the contest. Nine minutes later, Annika Schmunk, a management junior from Powell River, B.C., tallied for what proved to be the game-winner for the visitors.
 
In the second half, the Martlets took a commanding lead when forward Alexandra Hughes Goyette, a first-year master's student from Squamish, B.C., put a third goal behind beleaguered Pats 'keeper Florence Bilodeau.

It was the first marker of the season for all three McGill snipers.

The Patriotes spoiled Sophie Guilmette's shutout bid when Meredith Bélanger scored her team-leading third of the year in the 54th minute. The UQTR striker is the daughter of former CFL player  Robin Bélanger – an all-star defensive back on McGill's 1987 national championship squad – who will be inducted to the McGill Sports Hall of Fame on Oct. 20. 

That was the only shot fired on Guilmette, a second-year NCAA transfer from Ahuntsic, Que., who collected the win, upping her record to 3-2-3 in regular season play.
 
The Martlets had an 8-1 advantage in attempted shots, including a 4-1 margin on target. The Martlets had both corner-kicks in the game and UQTR's Gabrielle Bertrand was assessed the only yellow card issued by the referee.
 
McGill, which sits third in the eight-team RSEQ conference, has a 4-2-3 record. The Martlets are four behind the idle Montreal Carabins (6-1-1), who will play fourth-place Concordia (2-3-3) on Friday. McGill will host the Carabins on Sunday (Oct. 1) in a 5:30 p.m. kickoff at Percival Molson Stadium. The Martlets will be dressed in pink uniforms in their annual Pink Game which serves as a fundraiser for breast cancer. In their only previous rendezvous with the Carabins his season, UdeM scored a goal in injury time to emerge with a 1-0 decision at home on Sept. 8.
 
UQTR (1-7-1) will host Concordia on Oct. 1.


BOXSCORE
 
RSEQ STATS & STANDINGS


SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
CELL: 514-983-7012
E-MAIL:earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca