Sabrina Santarossa scored the winning penalty for AS Laval, who edged past Alliance United 6-5 in a dramatic shootout and booked their place the inaugural Women’s Inter-Provincial Championship final.
Alliance broke the deadlock in the 66th minute when Chelsea Cheung whipped in a perfect cross to Miranda Badovinac, who powered a header home from inside the area.
With momentum in their favour, Alliance pressed for a second to put the match to bed. However, Laval substitute Sarah Feola pounced on a misplaced pass by Alliance goalkeeper Levanta Staggolis in the penalty area, giving the local side the equaliser with just seven minutes left in regulation time.
Alliance United were dominant in possession throughout the match but struggled to penetrate Laval’s organised defense. The first half featured few chances on goal, although Badovinac came close to chipping Laval goalkeeper (and Match MVP) Kelly Cantin from range, and PLSQ top scorer Cassandra Provost shot wide in a rare attack from the hosting team.
Early in the second half, Staggolis stepped up to deny Laval twice in quick succession and made a crucial save in the penalty shootout to keep her side in the tie. But Alliance hit the post in both the sixth and seventh round of penalties, allowing Santarossa’s clutch finish from the spot to send the local side through to Sunday’s Gold Medal match.