League1 Canada Women’s Review – Week 12
By One of four champions has already been crowned as we near the end of the 2024 League1 Canada women’s season and the start of the all-important Inter-Provincial Championship. With the days winding down, here’s how the 48 teams faired during matchweek 12.
As has been the case all season, fellow Northern Tribune writer David Parkes and I have tracked every game week by week of the L1 calendar. This article will cover the women’s matches. You can find David’s coverage of the men’s games here.
League1 BC: A Champion Officially Crowned
Rivers FC 2 – 5 TSS Rovers FC
Whitecaps Girls Elite 4 – 0 Burnaby FC
Although they officially won the regular season last week, following their 3-1 win over Harbourside, the Whitecaps Girls Elite squad were officially presented with their Regular Season Championship trophy for the second year running! In this very quiet L1BC matchweek, here’s how the ‘Caps fared alongside three of their league counterparts.
Although Rivers is no longer fighting for a playoff spot, having been eliminated a few weeks ago, they could still try and deny the Rovers as many points as possible, as their opponents seek to move up in the top four. Unfortunately, a five-goal onslaught would crush the Rivers defence, led by a Jenna Baxter brace.
Kicking off at Thunderbird Stadium had the aforementioned Whitecaps taking on the third-place Burnaby FC who, in their final match of 2024, needed a win to take a provisional P2 in the table. Sadly, Burnaby keeper Sarah Loewen was overwhelmed by the Whitecaps’ attack as Archibald, Taylor, Hunter, and Bains all found mesh to mark the scoreline at 4-0.
League1 Alberta: Still Anyone’s Game!
Callies United 5 – 2 NDC Alberta
Calgary Blizzard 0 – 2 Calgary Foothills
Calgary Foothills 3 – 2 NDC Alberta
BTB SC 2 – 2 St. Albert Impact FC
St. Albert Impact FC 5 – 1 Calgary Foothills
One win. That is all that separates the bottom of the pack with a playoff spot. Nothing but 90 minutes and a single goal. In the tightest league table to date, no one is safe and all cards are on the table.
A perfect example of how close this league is was in the first match of the week as Callies hosted NDC Alberta. Despite NDC-A being first, by the 30′ mark Callies’ Kendall Showers had already notched a hat-trick with a fourth coming only nine minutes later. NDC’s Taegan Stewart and Ashlynn Walia did mark two of their own, but it would end with a 5-2 scoreline following Maria Georgacacos’ added-time closer.
The Blizzard would be the first of three sides to face off against the Foothills this week and would be the first of two to feel their wrath. As the visitors sought to hunt down the second-placed Blizzard, Cheyenne Lehmann and Avril Jamieson would make sure that the Foothills got just that one bit closer, aided by a Sarah Bach clean sheet to crush the hosts.
The Foothills then carried this momentum into Friday’s match over NDC Alberta. NDC-A would take the lead first, going up two-nil by the 62′. But the Foothills’ Ruth Adekugbe – sister of CMNT star Sam and York United starter Elijah – was having none of it and with three goals – and one yellow card – in nine minutes, she stole the lead back for her side to ultimately claim victory.
After being forced to forfeit all their games up until matchweek 7 due to contraventions of L1A roster rules, the St. Albert Impact have regained the footing and have stayed in the fight despite being in last. This week would almost have them take their third win in four matches, however a late strike by BTB’s Haden Thomas would tie it up, splitting the points between the two most-bottom sides.
But that was not all for the Impact as a rare Sunday make-up game would be held between them and the Foothills from Calgary. This one would not even be a contest for a tired and travelled Foothills side. Led by a Janai Martens hat-trick, the Impact would lead 3-0 by the end of the first, with two more coming in the second half as Bouchard and Bailey complemented Martens’ masterclass.
League1 Ontario: Relegation Confirmed
It was a busy one this week in League1 Ontario action as fans saw a lot of movement within the tables, with the teams counting down their final four to five matches.
Some of the sides also used this week to prepare for the semi-finals of the 2024 women’s L1 Cup. Coming up on Tuesday will see the North Toronto Nitros host the L1O-Championship side and Cup underdogs Darby FC. This will then be followed by Wednesday’s meeting between the Simcoe County Rovers and FC London in what is due to be a firecracker of a match.
League1 Ontario – Premiership
Guelph United FC 1 – 3 NDC Ontario
North Mississauga SC 1 – 2 Alliance United FC
North Toronto Nitros FC 3 – 2 Woodbridge Strikers
FC London 6 – 0 Blue Devils FC
Simcoe County Rovers FC 0 – 0 Vaughan Azzurri
Alliance United FC 1 – 3 NDC Ontario
Simcoe County Rovers FC 0 – 0 North Toronto Nitros FC
Blue Devils FC 0 -1 Guelph United FC
Woodbridge Strikers 1 – 2 FC London
Vaughan Azzurri 2 – 2 North Mississauga SC
The writing was on the walls from the moment the match kicked off, the storm had rolled in and I’m not just talking about the rain. One minute in and NDC’s Isabelle Chukwu would find mesh, followed by teammates Greco and Coore-Pascal, including this superb chip shot over Jo Maizer.
In a battle to avoid the relegation match versus the League1 Championship second-place team, both North Mississauga and Alliance United needed the points as they faced off against one another. Alliance struck first and struck hard as their two and game-winning goals came just eight-minutes apart in the 30′-38′. The clean sheet held until the 82′ when NMSC’s Lia foster would strike back with one of their own to soften the loss.
There’s not much to say about the FC London and Blue Devils match as sadly, it has been know for sometime that the Oakville-based squad would be getting the boot down to the Championship for some time. With Liu, Benati, Barwitzki, Rowe, Abreo, and Cromack highlighting the scoreline, FC London claimed an easy three points against the now- 0W-0D-14L Blue Devils.
Despite both the Nitros and Strikers holding on to playoff spots quite comfortably, they know the battle now rests amongst themselves as they seek to climb the ladder. With league-leader Jade Kovacevic opening the scoring in the 2′ then bracing in the 53′, she would be matched by the Strikers’ Samantha Murphy whose own brace would nearly tie it up had it not been for the Nitros’ heroine Ivymae Perez who would get the third goal for her side and all three points.
In both of their match-ups this week, the Simcoe County Rovers would succeed in giving up zero goals. However they would fail in marking any goals themselves as both in both their meetings with the Vaughan Azzurri and the North Toronto Nitros, keeper Maddie Heely was at the top of her game to keep the Rovers just behind Guelph in the playoff picture.
Alliance was unable to hold back the force of NDC on Saturday night at Centennial College as the league-leaders found mesh three times against AUFC keeper Gurleen Toor. With Zoe Markesini opened the scoring in the 4′, she followed this up with a converted penalty in the 86′ and then assisted on Bryanna Gaynor’s goal three minutes later. A consolation goal would come for the hosts though as Madison Mariani made it 3-1.
It would take Guelph United 73′ minutes to snag the lead in their meeting with Oakville’s Blue Devils. Coaches Randy Ribeiro and Pat Thomson lined up 22 equally-matched starters on Sunday night with the play evenly going back and forth. In the end, the Royal City’s Kate Knafelc broke the deadlock to send her side over the top.
The Strikers were only one point away from third place in the Premiership, sitting right behind FC London when the two sides met on Sunday. The Strikers ‘struck’ first as Jayda Thompson snuck one past the Forest City’s Cassidy Joslin, but this would be the Strikers’ only mark on the game as it was all London’s after this. Lauren Rowe and Julia Benati both broke through the Woodbridge d-line and by the 47′, it was all London’s game for the taking.
Vaughan gave up valuable points to the NMSC Panthers on Sunday as the teams came to a 2-2- draw to split the points. The Panthers took the lead at the 27′ then doubled that in the 53′ and would hold on to it until the second half’s added time. Vaughan would strike back with a late surge to tie it up as Saleena Banga and Kathleen Kimens found mesh in the 90+3′ and 90+5′ respectively.
League1 Ontario – Championship
Burlington SC 1 – 1 ProStars FC
BVB IA Waterloo POSTPONED Unionville Milliken SC
Darby FC 1 – 1 Pickering FC
Tecumseh United FC 0 – 2 Burlington SC
Unionville Milliken SC 2 – 3 ProStars FC
Hamilton United 2 – 0 Scrosoppi FC
BVB IA Waterloo 1 – 1 Rush Canada Academy
Neither side in the Bayhawks v ProStars meeting have anything particular to gain as their relative positions place them outside of either relegation or promotion. However with Aya Naamani breaking the deadlock in the 55′ her goal would stand alone until ProStars’ Hayley Lewis netted her on 15 minutes later, leaving the game level come final whistle.
The Darby versus Pickering match up would also be defined by a draw as the Whitby side use this battle to prepare for their L1Cup meeting later the following week. Pickering would strike first in the first half, but a 65′ boot by Christine Exeter would send this game to the scorekeepers tied at one.
Burlington did redeem themselves a few days later as they faced off against the relegation-leaders Tecumseh United FC. Travelling up to St. Clair College to take on hosting Tecumseh, the Bayhawks wasted no time in getting on the board. Alyssa Mella struck first in the opening half, joined shortly later by teammate Sienna Caesar in the 52′ off of a beautiful cross. See below!
ProStars also redeemed themselves on Saturday night as they danced with the hosting Unionville Milliken SC. Despite Kaitlynn Russell’s early strike, the ProStars would trail by the end of the first as Torrie Grant-Clavijo netted herself a brace to make it 2-1 in favour of UMSC. This would all be undone come the 64′ and 85′ as the visitors fought back for the lead inch by inch, with the winning goal coming off of a Teagan Handley penalty conversion.
In a tense race for the top three between these two sides, Hamilton and Scrosoppi both needed the points with only four shares separating the two. Come the 21′ and it was all Hamilton’s game as they had already stolen a 2-nil lead from Scrosoppi. The second half would be devoid of anything in the refs wallet book, thus leaving all three points to the Hammer.
It would be a slow burn between Waterloo’s Die Schwarzgelben and the Rush Academy with nothing but a few cards lining the first half’s scoresheet. The final 15 minutes of play would bring all the action as both sides netted their respective goals in this frame. Alicia McMurren kicked it all off, getting past Rush keeper Claire Wyville, but was then matched by Rush attacked Della Weir in the 84′ to keep it level.
League2 Ontario
(Southwest) Scosoppi FC II 3 – 1 St. Catharines Roma Wolves
(Southwest) BVB IA Waterloo II 1 – 0 Guelph United FC II
(Southwest) Hamilton United II 2 – 1 Rush Canada Academy II
(Northeast) Unionville Milliken SC II 2 – 0 Darby FC II
(Northeast) Vaughan Azzurri II 4 – 0 Master’s FA
(Northeast) Alliance United FC II 2 – 1 Pickering FC II
(Northeast) Woodbridge Strikers II 2 – 2 North Mississauga SC II
(Northeast) North Toronto Nitros II 2 – 3 SC Rovers FC II
(Crossover) Blue Devils FC II 1 – 2 Pickering FC II
(Crossover) St. Catharines Roma Wolves 2 – 3 Unionville Milliken SC II
Scrosoppi’s B-side would have a lot more success this week thank their A-team sisters as they faced off against the Roma Wolves. Sydney Lytle got on the board first in the single-digit minutes as teammate Julia Bullock came in with her own brace much later on. The Wolves’ Julia Angle’s goal would representing nothing more as it came too little too late.
Master’s FA picked up their 10th loss of the campaign this past week to the Azzurri B’s, who currently sit tied for first in the L2O Northeast division. Jessica Breda, Saleena Banga, and Emilija Lucic (x2) would all pitch in to sink the already-beat-down Master’s side, leaving MFA Gaffer Junior Groves with nothing more to do than plan his rebuild.
The final match of the week provided the last dose of Crossover division goodness as the Wolves came back to the pitch to take on their UMSC II opponents. Two own goals would open up the scoring as Sydney Sica (SCRW) and Karlia Jean-Baptiste (UMSC) helped each other’s side out. Sica would redeem herself with a 64′ goal in the opponent’s net, but Gabbie Ramdeen and Makayla Delic would close the scoring at 3-2.
Ligue1 Quebec: Quiet Week, Lotsa Action
FC Laval 0 – 3 AS Pierrefonds
Celtix du Haut-Richelieu 0 – 1 Royal Selects Beauport
OSU Atlético 1 – 0 CS St-Hubert
CS Mont-Royal Outremont 2 – 1 Académie CF Montréal
AS Laval 1 – 0 AS Chuadiere-Ouest
AS Blainville 2 – 0 CS Longueuil
With only one game apiece, all 12 teams from La Belle Province were in action this week as we near the end of their campaign.
FC Laval has ebbed and flowed this season, and when facing off against the Pierrefonds who sat five points behind FCL, it should have been a relatively relaxed match. However, Gomez-Delgado, Carriere, and Pronovost all decided to make it extra challenging for Coach Amro’s side, leaving them hopeless, goal-less, and point-less.
Celtix and Beauport’s match was one to watch as the sides battled cleanly back-and-forth for 80 minutes. That was until the visiting Quebecers and Marie Ujeneza broke the tie to steal all three points in the 82′.
As OSU are left with only one match in 2024, any points they can string together will go a long way in determining their place in the Coupe L1QC tournament. This explains the ferocity in which they took on the Spatiale. Rosa Maalouf continued her season of excellence – after having just signed with the University of Texas – and in the 19′, she left her mark on the game, marking the GWG.
In their hunt for first place the CSMRO Griffons took on their no. 1 rivals in the CFM Academie at home. When the Griffons got on the board in the 11′, it took CF Montreal no more than 10 minutes to tie it back up. 13 minutes later and the Griffons had retaken the lead off of the foot of Marie-Eve Bernard-O’Breham, whose 34′ strike would be the game-winner, putting her Griffons just one pack of the league-lead.
Unlike their FC cousins, the other side from North Island – AS Laval – were able to find success this matchweek as they hosted AS Chaudiere-Ouest at the Parc de Lausanne. With nothing of note in the first half, when Noemie Affo found mesh in the 59′, that’s all that was needed to claim all three points and the ‘dub.
Rounding out this week in Ligue1 Quebec had the division-leading AS Blainville taking on their cross-shore rivals in CS Longueuil on Saturday afternoon. Although CSL held their own well into the second half, goals by Megane Gagnon and Erika Bastien would ultimately seal the deal for Blainville, giving them three points and tied with Academie CF Montreal for the league lead at 31 points a-piece.
Header Image Photo Credit: Hamilton United