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Alliance United

Women’s Inter-Provincial Championship: Preview

By League1 Ontario staff, 08/12/22, 11:30AM EDT

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We introduce the four inaugural Inter-Provincial Championship contenders and explain what’s happening this weekend.

Alliance Unted celebrating

Alliance United

The inaugural Women’s Inter-Provincial Championship weekend has almost arrived, pitching together a handful of the best women’s teams across Canada.

The tournament begins with semifinals on Friday and culminates in a third-place playoff and grand final on Sunday that will crown the winner.

Here’s a lowdown on the teams that are competing:

AS Blainville

The Blainvilloises had an unbeaten regular season and secured their third PLSQ title in three years by just one point over AS Laval. They won eight games this campaign and were the top-scoring side with 26 goals.

They go into the Inter-Provincial Championship having also won the Women’s PLSQ Cup, securing the regular-season title and the cup for the second consecutive year having done so in 2021. 

After defeating FC Laval on penalties in the cup semifinal, they defeated Rapides de Chaudière-Ouest 2-0 to complete the double with playmaker Mégane Sauvé starring on the field – establishing herself as an in-form player going into this weekend.

AS Laval

Pipped to the PLSQ title by the Blainvilloises, AS Laval will be doing all they can this weekend to ensure their province rivals don’t finish the season with three out of three trophies.

But they can enter this weekend with confidence, boasting the best defensive record in the PLSQ this season after conceding just five goals, the league’s top-scorer in Cassandra Provost, and not to mention the Inter-Provincial Championship being played on their home soil.

They also made it to the PLSQ Cup semifinals this season, only to be beaten by the tournament’s eventual runners-up.

Alliance United

Alliance United were a somewhat surprise package in the League1 Ontario playoffs, sneaking into the sixth and final position in the last gameweek by beating ProStars 4-0.

In the postseason, they defeated the reigning Women’s Premier Division champions Woodbridge Strikers, and Vaughan Azzurri who finished the regular season in top spot, to claim their place in the Premier Division final where they lost to NDC Ontario.

The champions are unable to attend the Inter-Provincial Championship due to most of their squad representing the province at the Canada Summer Games, so Alliance United will be all the more geared up to bring the inaugural trophy back to Ontario and do their region proud.

Varsity FC

Formed from a partnership with the University of British Columbia, Varsity led by example in the first League1 BC campaign, finishing atop both the men’s and women’s regular-season standings.

The women’s team were also close to winning the championship final after Jenna Baxter’s early goal looked to be the difference between them and Vancouver Whitecaps Girls Elite Academy, but the Whitecaps came back with two late strikes to claim the title.

Several players from the L1BC champions will be representing BC and Alberta in the Canada Summer Games, so Varsity will be stepping up to the plate this weekend.

Tickets on sale

How it works

The action begins with back-to-back semifinals, starting at 4pm. The first game will see Alliance United from L1O take on PLSQ’s AS Laval.

That match-up will be followed at 6:30pm ET by the second semifinal, featuring the PLSQ champions AS Blainville and Varsity from L1BC.

Saturday brings a break in play, allowing for the teams to prepare for their opponents on Sunday. The winner of each semifinal will go head-to-head in the tournament final, and the losers will face off in a third-place playoff.

The battle for bronze will kick off proceedings on Sunday at 11am ET, followed by the final at 1:30pm ET.

How to watch

Tickets can be bought by fans online, with options to purchase access the semifinals and finals separately or as a package. Tickets are free for children under the age of 12.

Click here to buy tickets: https://app.eventnroll.com/en/tickets/buy-tickets/1721/7529 

The weather across the three days is expected to be sunny and warm with patches of cloud, making for a great weekend for back-to-back soccer games.

For fans who can’t make the games in person, they will be aired exclusively on OneSoccer.

Click here to watch online: https://onesoccer.ca/