TORONTO (CIS) – The Queen's Gaels upset the AUS Champion St. FX X-Women, 1-0, in extra time in the first quarter-final match of the day at the 2009 CIS women's soccer championship at Varsity Centre. 
 
The Queen's Gaels are making their first appearance in the national tournament since 2006, where they fell to the UBC Thunderbirds in the finals.  They enter the tournament after falling in overtime to the York Lions in the OUA championship final, while St. FX was crowned AUS champions following a thrilling victory over the UPEI Panthers.  The X-Women are making only their second appearance in the CIS championship tournament since its inaugural year in 1987.  They finished in fifth place at the 2005 event. 
 
The first half was played with a fair bit of tentativeness early on in the half as both sides were content to get a feel for their unfamiliar opponent.  The game opened up more and more as the half continued, with Queen's carrying a majority of the play.
 
The Gaels garnered five total shots throughout the half, however, none would force X-Women keeper Anna Thompson (Calgary, Alta.) to make a save.  Her counterpart would only be tested once in the half and Elena Corry (Hamilton, Ont.) had no trouble with a weak shot on net in the 14th minute.  The game would enter halftime scoreless as neither team showed much vulnerability in the backfield.     
 
The Queen's Gaels continued to press from the opening whistle of the second half and won a corner kick within the first moments of play.  Thompson had to be solid, coming out to catch the ball to prevent a dangerous cross.  St. FX came right back, winning of a corner of their own.  There were tense moments as Corry juggled the ball for before finally wrapping up the cross-kick. 
 
St. FX continued to maintain pressure mustered the first real scoring chance of the contest when Ana Balbino created some space just outside the penalty area.  The Dartmouth, N.S. native sent a hard short that sailed only a few feet above the crossbar. 
 
In the 71st minute, another dangerous cross was sent by St. FX and squirted loose for a few moments.  Again, Hamilton, Ont. native Corry jumped on the ball quickly, taking away a scoring opportunity for the X-Women. 
 
The scoring chances continued, as Angela Sullivan of Scarborough, Ont. nearly put the Gaels on top in the 74th minute.  She headed a wonderful corner kick by Kelli Chamberlain (North Bay, Ont.) that rang off the crossbar and was eventually cleared by the St. FX defence. 
 
The end to end play continued, as Julie Griffiths of Thunder Bay, Ont. sent a beautiful through pass to forward Amy MacKinnon.  Unfortunately for the X-Women, Corry was aggressive, coming off her line to jump on the ball before MacKinnon could get her foot on the ball.
 
With less than five minutes to go, Jacqueline Tessier of Winnipeg, Man. was left alone with the ball and a clear shot in close on net.  Thompson came up big, in what would be a game-saving play, sliding and tipping the ball off the shot by Tessier then quickly cleared by the X defence. 
 
That was the final play of regulation, as the game would move into the extra-time periods. 
 
Queen's opened the first extra frame with a chance, as Riley Filion (Alexandria, Ont.) had her shot blocked by a defender after making a great run down the right flank.  Tessier than lobbed a shot from well outside the penalty area that managed to bounce off the top of the crossbar and out of play. 
 
The Gaels hard work finally paid off for the Gaels in the 103 minute when Mikyla Kay sent a cross into the X-Women penalty box. Cristina Senese of Mississauga, Ont. headed the cross into the top right corner past a diving Thompson, putting Queen's up 1-0 in what would be the game-winning play.
 
With the victory, the Gaels will move on to face the winner of the second quarter-final match of the day, featuring the AUS finalist UPEI Cougars and the CWUAA champion Trinity Western Spartans.  

SCORING SUMMARY
QUE: 0-0-1-0: 1
SFX: 0-0-0-0: 0

First Half
no scoring

Second Half
no scoring

Overtime (2x15 minutes)
1. QUE, Christina Senese (1), 103rd

Goalkeepers:
QUE: Elena Corry (W, 0 GA, 1 saves, 120:00 mins)
SFX: Anna Thompson (L, 1 GA, 4 saves, 120:00 mins)

Shots: QUE 15, SFX 4
Shots on Net: QUE 4, SFX 1
Corners: QUE 10, SFX 6
Offsides: QUE 0, SFX 0
Fouls: QUE 9, SFX 4
Yellow Cards: QUE (none), SFX (Allie Anderson)
Red Cards: none

Players of the game:
QUE: Mikyla Kay
SFX: Eugenia Renderos