BOX SCORE Trinity Western defeated Queen's 2-1 for the first overtime win of the 2023 Women's Soccer National Championship in Kingston. 
 
After a lengthy match which took the teams to overtime, the Spartans found victory and a ticket to the semi-final round on Friday. 
 
In the first half, Queen's Leda Naihin and Mattson Strickler dominated the left side with constant pressure on the Spartan defense. Strickler got four shots off and Leda Naihin showed her fancy footwork as she sent many balls through to the box. In total, Queen's took seven shots to Trinity Western's four in the first half. 
 
In the second half, the Gaels opened the scoring in the 52nd minute when Vita Naihin sent a perfect cross into the box and Second Team All-Canadian Kendra Couto got her head on it to put it in the left corner. After the goal, the Gaels ran over to the stands for a celebration with everyone who came to watch them play at home. 
 
Trinity Western responded in the 79th minute when Sophie Crowther curled the ball into the net for a Spartan goal to tie the game. From there, the second half remained a battle. Both teams had good opportunities and the Gaels carried a few breakaway balls into the box, but neither team found the back of the net. 
 
Queen's put everything on the line, throwing themselves in front of the ball at every opportunity in an effort to keep the Spartans out of their goal. Trinity Western, however, had the same mentality and at the end of two halves it was still tied 1-1 sending them to overtime. 
 
Overtime followed where the second half left off as both teams kept up the energy but struggled to convert their effort into goals. 
 
Late in the second overtime period, the Gaels conceded a penalty kick after a handball call in their box which the Spartans' Olivia Kranjcec converted into the lone overtime goal. 
 
Queen's will play next on Friday in the consolation semi-final at 1:30 p.m.