The wheels came off the gold-medal train for Trinity Western University’s women’s soccer team.
The defending two-time Canadian Interuniversity Sports national champs were denied a record sixth Glady Bean trophy following a 5-0 loss to host and first-time national finalist Laval Rouge et Or in the championship final in Quebec City on Sunday.
With history to be written by one of the final combatants, it was Laval, becoming the first team from Quebec to win the CIS national title, that penned its name into the record book.
The Spartans appeared to be well on their way to a historic threepeat at the CIS nationals, blanking the Ottawa Gee-Gees 3-0 in the semifinals.
Krista Gommeringer scored two times, including the game-winner from TWU player of the game Seina Kashima of Burnaby, as the Langley team broke open a scoreless matchup with three unanswered goals in a five-minute span of the second half.
Trinity Western opened the championship tournament, downing the Ontario Institute of Technology 4-1 in the quarter-finals.
Kashima, who was named a CIS tournament all-star foward, assisted on the game-winning goal by Jennifer Di Nunzio in the 33rd minute of play, earning her first of two player of the game honours for the Spartans.
In the championship final, the South Burnaby product missed a chance to tie the score 1-1, when Laval keeper Marie-Joelle Vandal robbed her on a rebound off an Alessandra Oliverio shot on goal in the 39th minute.
TWU juniors Lindsey Pulice and Isabella Di trocchio, both of Burnaby, were denied a third straight CIS title with the Spartans.
Canada West conference runner-up University of the Fraser Valley was also denied a medal, losing the bronze-medal final 2-1 to Ottawa on a goal by Sophie Curtis in the final minute of the match.
Fraser Valley’s goalkeeper Kayla Klim of Burnaby was named the team’s player of the game, making eight saves in the match, including two huge reaction stops on Ottawa’s Pilar Khoury.
Khoury finally beat Klim on a penalty shot in the 71st minute to tie the game 1-1.
Later in stoppage time, the Gee-Gees got a break off a mistake by the Fraser Valley backline and Curtis took full advantage, getting to the loose ball first and beating Klim to the short side.
In the semifinals, Laval defeated Fraser Valley 3-0 to earn a spot in its first-ever national final.
Klim earned her first team player of the game honour with a game-high eight saves in the Fraser Valley goal.
In the quarter-finals, Fraser Valley eked out a 2-1 victory over Memorial University in overtime with Klim holding the fort with two of her six saves coming on great efforts in the extra time.
