Laval Dominates in Dalian, Cruises to 4-0 Win Over Sydney
The Laval Rouge et Or women's soccer team put on a commanding display on Match Day 2 of the FISU World University Cup, shutting out THE University of Sydney from Australia with a decisive 4-0 victory on Friday.
From the opening whistle, the Canadian side established control. The breakthrough came early when defender Mathilde Rousseau finished a through ball from Emilie Grondines, striking from 10 yards out in the 6th minute to open the scoring.
Rousseau wasn't done yet. Just past the quarter-hour mark, she doubled Laval's lead. This time, it was Anais Bujold-Samson who provided the assist, sending Rousseau into the box on the left side where she fired a powerful shot from 15 yards out for her second goal of the game.
The first-half onslaught continued as Emilie Grondines got a goal of her own in the 25th minute. A well-placed cross from Victoria Dupont found Grondines in the box, who made no mistake from close range to make it 3-0.
The Sydneysiders struggled to generate consistent offense against a stout Laval defense, managed by goalkeeper Anne-Gab. Pouliot who earned a clean sheet with four saves.
Any hope of a Sydney comeback was extinguished in the 57th minute as Bujold-Samson pounced on a loose ball after a collision between the Sydney goalkeeper and a defender, tapping into an open net to seal the comprehensive 4-0 win.
Laval's offense was relentless, outshooting Sydney 24-12. Sydney's keeper, Chelsea Hromek, made five saves in the loss.
The result sets up a crucial final day in Group Stage play. Laval (1-0-1) will face France's Université Polytechnique Hauts-de-France (0-2-0) on Sunday at 2 a.m. Eastern Time, while Sydney (1-1-0) will take on host nation's Beijing Normal University (1-0-1) at the same time. The top two teams from the group will make the semifinals.
STANDINGS
|
Group A |
GP |
W |
L |
T |
GF |
GA |
Dif |
Pts |
||||||
|
Shanghai Univ. of Sport (CHN) |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
+8 |
6 |
||||||
|
Extreme South of Santa Catarina (BRA) |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
-4 |
0 |
||||||
|
Valencia (ESP) |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
-4 |
0 |
||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
Group B |
GP |
W |
L |
T |
GF |
GA |
+/- |
Pts |
||||||
|
Laval (CAN) |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
||||||
|
Beijing Normal (CHN) |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
||||||
|
Sydney (AUS) |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
6 |
-3 |
3 |
||||||
|
UPHF (FRA) |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
5 |
-3 |
0 |
||||||
SCHEDULE (All times Eastern)
Group B
Tuesday: Sydney 3 UPHF 2
Wednesday: Laval 1 Beijing Normal 1
Friday: Beijing Normal 2 UPHF 0, Laval 4 Sydney 0.
Sunday: Beijing Normal vs. Sydney, UPHF vs. Laval (Both at 2 a.m.)
Knockout Round
Wednesday
- 5th-place game (3rd Group A vs. 3rd Group B), 11:30 p.m.
Thursday
Semifinals
- Shanghai University of Sport vs. 2nd Group B, 2 a.m.
- 1st Group B vs. 2nd Group A, 2 a.m.
Friday, Sept. 26
- Bronze Medal Game, 10:30 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 27
- World Cup Final, 3:30 a.m.
