CSMRO Griffons Grab Ligue1 Quebec Gold

[Author’s note: Volume Warning with the Youtube Clips below]

Following a surprise victory as the fourth seed in the Ligue1 Quebec final four, the CS Mont-Royal Outremont Griffons’ women’s squad only needed 70 minutes to dispatch their CF Montreal rivals in the L1QC Finals and claim the league title.

After a phenomenal season by John Duggan’s girls, the team outdid all expectations following a rebuild which ultimately bore fruit, culminating in a 8W-5D-3L 2024 campaign.

Yet going into the L1QC playoff’s as the fourth seed (second in Conference ‘A’) with 29 points, a semi-final meeting with the Regular Season winners, AS Blainville, presented an uphill struggle for the young squad. Yet, in a shocking result, Duggan’s Griffons’ easily cast aside Blainville 5-2, booking their way to the Finals.

CSMRO’s finals opponent, L’Academie de CF Montreal, had a bit more of a breezy path to finals. After coming second in the league and first in their conference, CFM needed nothing more than a single goal to beat the Royal Select Beauport for their 11th win in all competitions this season. Liana Tarasco would play the hero for her side in that one as her 34′ goal would be the game winner come final whistle.

Thus, with a reunion of the two best teams in Conference ‘A’ headlining the L1QC finals, fans heading to the Parc Bois-De-Boulogne field in Laval were in for a spectacle. Speaking post-match, Griffons forward Allana Oriente touched on this dynamic between the two sides and their previous meetings during the regular season.

“We faced them twice this season already and both games were a good battle. So coming into this game we had nothing to lose,” said Oriente. “This was the first time we had made it to the finals [and] we were ready to fight and leave it all on the field.”

The fight mentioned by Oriente was fully on display come the opening half. While her side pressed consistently, CFM brought with them a defensive, anti-football style of play as they absorbed the attack and sought out openings and holes in the Griffons back line. This would all change come the 8′ when CSMRO broke the deadlock and netted the game’s first goal thanks to uOttawa Gee-Gee Eva Bouity.

Having drawn a corner a few seconds earlier thanks to a short-angle shot by Shayla He, the resulting arching feed from Osamede Iyare would find the head of Bouity to put her side up by one.

The remaining 34 minutes of the first 45 would be defined by a surging CF Montréal side attempting to end their deficit whilst also defending against an energized and unrelenting Mont-Royal squad. This included a series of chances from the 33′ to the 39′ as CFM placed lots of pressure on the Griffons back line, but unable to connect the passes meant for their strikers, the defenders were able to easily clear the attempts back towards the centre line.

Come the second half, CF Montreal did not hold back having been revitalized by the words of their Gaffer Alexandra Girouard at the break. Strong out of the gates, fans were delighted to see another 25-minutes of fast footy by the girls in blue as they rallied to get themselves back into the match.

This would come to as crashing halt as come the 70′, Allana Oriente would find mesh to make it a two-goal lead and, in the end, claim the title. Thanks to a short but quick throw by teammate Ariane Sagala to the feet of Oriente, the other Gee-Gee on the CSMRO squad quickly got past her marker towards the top of the penalty area where her shot would glide into the top, far corner past Montréalais Khadijah Cisse.

Oriente talked after the match about how important these moments were to her, not just because she was able to share them with her CSMRO teammates, but also with her GeeGee’s teammate in Eva Boutiy, whom she shared an OUA title with during the 2023 season.

“It’s really [a lot] of happiness and proudness,” she said. “Sharing these moments with Eva is really great since we get to see each other develop as players and share these victories that we’ve work so hard for, both with the Gee-Gee’s and with Mont-Royal.”

The demoralized CFM squad spent the remaining 20 minutes attempting to log anything on the board, but failed to do so repeatedly. Ultimately, they would mark one on the scoresheet in added time off of an incredibly short-angle shot by Sandrine Brault that would make even Roberto Carlos proud.

A quick feed from the top of the penalty area by fellow CFM-er Maree-Anne Van Doesburg would be tipped to a sprinting Brault thanks to Griffon defender Christy Keller’s failed interception. With Brault taking it to the goal line, her options slowly dwindled until the short-angle cross/shot was the only thing she could do to maintain possession. As the ball spun clockwise towards the net, it bent ever so slightly past the sprawling hand of keeper Lea Palacio-Tellier to notch CFM’s one and only of goal this final.

With CSMRO needing nothing more than to keep the ball in the opposing end, CFM placed as much pressure as they could to try and bag the tying goal, bringing with them a handful of stellar chances, all of which were sadly not capitalized on.

Come the final whistle, it was nothing but jubilation amongst the CSMRO fans and bench as they defied all odds to claim the league title.

John Duggan’s side will now prepare for the trip to Hamilton in one-week’s time as they have now also clinched their place in the League1 Canada Inter-Provincial Championship. Drawn on July 29th, they are slated to face off against the League1 Ontario champions, NDC Ontario, in the IPC semi-finals, while L1BC’s Whitecaps Girls Elite and L1Alberta’s Calgary Blizzard will go at it in the opposite semi-final.

Speaking to this upcoming bout against one of the strongest teams in Canada, Allana Oriente spoke to the preparation her side is now undertaking in the run up to Friday’s meeting.

“We’re definitely looking forward to this match up and to play a team that we’ve never played against is always interesting,” Allana said, the Sunday after the L1QC finals. “They are definitely a strong team, but so are we… We will continue to work hard and put in the effort like we’ve been doing, learning from our mistakes, tightening our weak points, and building up our strengths.”

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Tickets for the Inter-Provincial Championship are now on sale starting at $20, while Weekend Ticket Pack start at $35. Each Weekend Ticket Pack also grants access to the inaugural League1 Ontario Women’s League2 Division Final, which will be played at Tim Hortons Field on August 10 at 1pm. The winner of this final will earn the divisional title and promotion to the L1ON Championship Division.

Header Image Photo Credit: MomoCaptures (IG: @momocaptures)