TORONTO, ON – For the uOttawa Gee-Gees women’s soccer team, the gold medal at the FISU Americas Games Merida 2022 is very much within reach.
On Wednesday, the Canadian representative couldn’t complete the perfect group stage but earned their seventh point in three games with a 1-1 draw against Brazil’s Paulista University, finishing second in the group on goal differential.
Paulista finished first, buoyed by a 7-2 win over Monterrey in their opening match.
The Brazillian school, which fell to uOttawa in the 2019 FISU World Cup final, controlled the pace of the game through the early stages before the Gee-Gees found a chance of their own in Nibo Dlamini, who wasn’t able to open the scoring.
After continuing back-and-forth play, and a few stops from Gee-Gee goalkeeper Cassidy Joslin, the Gee-Gees found their breakthrough as Dlamini finished off a feed from Trinity Esprit to put the Canadians into the lead.
Head coach Steve Johnson introduced U SPORTS leading goalscorer Casadra Provost into the match in the moments following the goal, and she provided a scoring threat from long distance that proved no problem for Paulista’s goalkeeper.
However, the Gee-Gees couldn’t hold onto the lead, as Paulista tied the match just before the hour mark, leading to the eventually shared miseries and a 1-1 result.
With both teams having beaten Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey and University Salgado de Oliveira, Paulista claimed top-spot on a more positive goal differential and set up a semifinal clash with their fellow Brazilian side.
Meanwhile, the Gee-Gees look ahead to a semifinal matchup with Monterrey, as they hope to dispatch the host nation’s top team en route to the final and a likely rematch with Paulista.
The semifinals kick-off on Oct. 21 at 5:00 p.m. ET and 7:00 p.m ET, with the Gee-Gees playing in the later matchup. Regardless of the result, each team will earn another match after the semis, with the bronze meda game on Oct. 23 at 5:00 p.m. ET and the championship final at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Cover photo: @GeeGeesWSOC