The CIS women’s soccer championship was held at U of T for the first time, taking place at Varsity Centre from Nov. 12 to 15.

As the host of the tournament, the Varsity Blues soccer team automatically secured a berth in the quarterfinals, making it the Blues’ first appearance in the national championship. Unranked in the CIS final top 10, Toronto didn’t come into the tournament as a favourite. Playing against the Montreal Carabins, the number-one ranked team in the country and last year’s bronze medalists, in the first match was far from ideal for the home team.

Nov. 12
Quarterfinal: Toronto Varsity Blues 2-3 Montreal Carabins

Toronto came into the game playing offensively, showing their desire to win. In the sixth minute, Toronto scored its first goal when central defender Nav Deol sent a pass through to striker Jennifer Siu, outpacing two Montreal defenders and firing a low shot past goalkeeper Martine Julien. In the 39th minute, Siu scored her second goal of the game, receiving a pass from Arin King and beautifully chipping the ball over Julien. Toronto led 2-0 into halftime.
Although in the first half, both teams had five shots each, the Carabins only had one shot on goal. Everything looked as though the Blues were going to pull off the biggest upset in the tournament.

However, the tide was turned in the second half, when Montreal played more aggressive soccer, stunning the home team. It seemed that the Blues were a bit too nervous as they looked unorganized. There were also times when the Blues completely left the goal unmarked when defending set-plays.

The Varsity Blues’ inconsistent play was finally punished by conceding three goals in 14 minutes, all through set-pieces. In the 52nd minute, a free kick by Véronique Maranda scrambled the Toronto defence and finally Véronique Laverdière, who had been waiting in front of the Toronto goal, received a pass from Virginie Lévesque and scored with a beautiful overhead kick. In the 62nd minute, another free kick by Maranda found Laverdière, who kicked the ball into the net with ease. Only four minutes later, Lévesque scored the eventual game-winner from a close range when the Blues failed to control a corner kick by Maranda.

After conceding the third goal, the Blues changed their formation and put more strikers upfront, trying to press forward. However the visitors defended well, and held on to the 3-2 lead. When the final whistle was blown, Toronto’s quest for a medal ended at the same time.

“I feel horrible with the game,” said Toronto defender Alicia Lashley. “You don’t let a team back into the game when you are up 2-0 at half. […] At the beginning we were up 2-0 with 45 minutes to go, and we couldn’t close the door. We are actually really good at defending set plays […] but for some reason today we couldn’t organize defensively. When the ball was in the air, we were all over the place, and that cost us three times. There were missed marks, and when we did get the clearances, we were probably so frantic that we just couldn’t clear the ball with strength, and we were just dinky, dinky, dinky on the ball.”

The Blues’ coaches chose not to give any comments, opting to let the team’s performance in the upcoming games do the talking.

“This is our house!” Shouts from the Blues could be clearly heard on the pitch.

Nov. 13
Consolation Semi-final: Toronto Varsity Blues 1-0 York Lions

After the heartbreaking loss to the Montreal Carabins the previous night, Toronto came into the consolation semi-final against OUA champion York Lions with even more determination to win.
It was an even match, in which neither team could dominate ball possession. Refusing to repeat the same mistakes made in the game against Montreal, the Blues were focused throughout the 90 minutes of action, especially on defending set plays. Each team had many scoring chances, but it was Toronto that finally converted a late goal, when Varsity Blues defender Jackie Miklovich’s pass found midfielder Nicole Burling, who fired the ball past the stretched Lions goalkeeper Sarah Fiorini in the 71st minute.

Toronto held onto the lead until the end, and achieved its first ever victory in the CIS championships. The York Lions, coached by former Canadian World Cup player Paul James, ended the season with a disappointing 0-2 record in the tournament.

Nov. 14
Consolation Final: Toronto Varsity Blues 2-0 UPEI Panthers

The win over York Lions the previous day undoubtedly boosted the morale of the Blues, and the next day saw the team play against the Atlantic University Sport finalists UPEI Panthers for fifth place in the tournament. The Blues dominated the entire 90 minutes of action, leaving the visitors with almost no chances to score. Early in the game, the Panthers played a very defensive game, causing the Blues some difficulties in penetrating the Panthers defence.

Toronto finally broke the stalemate in the 55th minute. A corner kick by Jennifer Siu found Arin King, who sent the ball to Erica Basso, who tipped in the shot. After taking the lead, the Blues continued to press forward, and at the same time, defend well as the Panthers searched in vain for an equaliser.

The game ended in a rather dramatic way. In the 90th minute when the Panthers were awarded a corner kick, the entire team, including the goalkeeper, crowded in front of the Toronto goal, making final efforts to score and bring the match into extra time. The Blues successfully cleared the ball to Toronto midfielder Laura Machado, who comfortably scored after a solo run to the empty Panthers goal.

After the game, Toronto head coach Eva Havaris could not mask her happiness. “[It’s] just very exciting. Everybody who was on the field played well. [It was] a team effort.”
For goal scorer Erica Basso, there could not have been a better way to finish her soccer career at U of T. “It was so satisfying,” said the fourth-year striker. “This season it was very important to me, especially this game. […] I really had to perform tonight. I had this one thing in my mind: this is my last game at the Varsity [Centre], and the Varsity has been a huge part of my life, so it’s important for me to perform.”

The Blues have every reason to be proud of themselves. They have proven that they are a force to be reckoned with by clinching fifth-place in their first appearance in the national championships.

“It’s exciting [to play at the CIS championships.] I know we got the opportunity because we are the host,” said Coach Havaris. “But I think we’ve proven that we belong here, and our girls needed this experience so that they will know they can be the best.”

When asked what she said to the players after losing to the Montreal Carabins in the quarterfinal, Havaris answered, “[I told them] that it was character, that this is a tournament. Yes, we lost to Montreal, and we were out of the medal round because of the format, but we had a lot to play for, so we could still leave the tournament with a winning record. […] To finish fifth being here for the first time is still an accomplishment.

“We’ve got a great season. We’ve got a young team. This experience has been great, and I think we will only go forward from here. We had a great season last year, so we are building now, definitely.”

The thing I am happiest about is how we performed in this tournament. I think we really came together as a team, finally showed our potential, and we’ve now shown that on a national stage.”