TORONTO (CIS) – Fort Langley B.C. native Daniela Gerig scored in the 87th minute to tie the game 1-1 and gave the defending CIS champion Trinity Western Spartans a second opportunity to defeat the Queen's Gaels 2-1 (5-3 in penalty kicks) in the first semifinal of the 2009 CIS women's soccer championship at Varsity Centre.

Second-year goalkeeper Kristen Funk ( Calgary, Alta.) scored the Spartans first goal in the shootout and went on to make a huge save on the Gaels first shooter Angela Sullivan (Scarborough, Ont.). TWU's fifth shooter, defenceman Colleen Webber (Calgary, Alta.), made no mistake finding the back of the net to secure the victory in penalty kicks.

“I feel like our game today was a gift for us - we did not play well,” said Funk. “We stood it out and we worked hard to finish that last goal.”

With the win the 2009 Canada West champions Spartans improve their national championship all-time record to 9-1-1 and will appear in their third national final in five years. The defending CIS champions will take on the winner of the UBC Thunderbirds and the Montreal Carabins in tomorrow's final at 5 p.m.

“Queen's played very well,” said Spartans head coach Graham Roxburgh. “We were a bit unlucky on a few of our chances - a little bit sharper finishing and I think we would've been ahead [in regulation].”

The Queen's Gaels will appear in their third CIS bronze-medal match. The Gaels won their lone CIS bronze medal in 2004 when they defeated the Montreal Carabins 1-0 in penalty kicks.

Both teams came out flying and recorded scoring chances in the opening minutes. 2009 CIS player of the year Renee MacLellan (Kingston, Ont.) deked her way through Trinity Western defenders, setting up a great shot on goal.

Alicia Tesan, the 2009 CIS Rookie of the Year, looked as though she would open the scoring in the 31st minute when she turned and shot a hard ball into the arms of Corry.

TWU continued to pressure and again almost got on the board in the 37th minute when Alexi Foster (Fort Langley, B.C.) sent a booming shot right under the cross bar but Corry made a fantastic leap to tip the ball over the net. Just two minutes later, Mobilio beat Corry to a ball and was able to tip it past her, but the Coquitlam, B.C. native sent it inches wide of the net.

The game remained scoreless at the half.

With a scoreless draw through 45 minutes, the Spartans showed why they remain a dominant force in women's soccer, taking the play to the Gaels for the majority of the second half.

However it would be Queen's striking first, and on their first rush of the half, first-year Queen's midfielder Riley Filion (Alexandria, Ont.) sent a beautiful pass to fellow rookie Chantal McFetridge (Kelowna, B.C.) who made no mistake, sending a low shot past a diving Funk.

Queen's carried that momentum over for the next 15 minutes, however the Spartans returned to fine form and challenged Corry with numerous shots from well inside the 18-yard box.

Gerig finally got the defending CIS champions on the board and would force overtime in the 87th minute when she sent a low shot from 25 yards out into the bottom right corner.

Despite outshooting the Gaels 11-2, the Spartans were unable to solve Corry in the overtime period and resorted to penalty kicks to secure their spot in the CIS gold-medal match tomorrow afternoon.

SCORING SUMMARY

TWU: 0-1-0-0:2 (5-3 PK)
QUE: 0-1-0-0:1

First Half
No scoring

Second Half
1.QUE, Chantal McFetridge (1), 65th
2.TWU, Daniela Gerig (1), 87th

Overtime
No scoring

Penalty Kicks:
TWU, Kristen Funk, goal
QUE, Angela Sullivan, saved
TWU, Melissa Mobilio, goal
QUE, Brienna Shaw, goal
TWU, Daniela Gerig, goal
QUE, Kelli Chamberlain, goal
TWU, Meghan McKinnon, goal
QUE, Riley Filion, goal
TWU, Colleen Webber, goal

Goalkeepers:
TWU: Kristen Funk (W, 1 GA, 11 saves, 120:00 mins)
QUE: Elena Corry (L, 1 GA, 6 saves, 120:00 mins)