University of Ottawa Gee Gees women’s soccer team wins gold at university soccer world cup

JINJIANG, China – The Ottawa Gee-Gees women’s team claimed an international championship on Saturday with a 1-0 win over Brazil at the inaugural FISU university soccer World Cup.

Ottawa toppled the favourites from Brazil’s Paulista University, which conceded its first and only goal of the tournament on a Mikayla Morton header in the second minute.

Katherine Bearne perfectly placed her kick to a rising Morton, who headed the ball past the Paulista ‘keeper for the score.

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Ottawa’s defence, led by tournament MVP Trinity Esprit, held the Brazilians at bay for the rest of the match.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Bearne, a fifth-year midfielder. “It was a great team win. Five games in 10 days is a lot on our bodies, but we really pulled together as a unit.”

Canadian teams have won six medals (two gold, three silver and one bronze) in previous FISU university World Cups in other sports.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 1, 2019.