Goalkeeper Léa Palacio-Tellier was the hero for CS Mont-Royal Outremont at Tim Hortons Field on Friday night, as she made some crucial saves against NDC Ontario to help the League1 Québec champions through to the 2024 League1 Canada Women’s Inter-Provincial Championship Final.

After an inspired showing through 90 minutes of deadlocked regulation time, it was Palacio-Tellier who CSMRO looked to for heroics in a penalty shootout against the competition’s local team.

She delivered.

CSMRO and NDCO were tied at three goals a piece through three rounds of penalties when Palacio-Tellier stepped up big, making a diving save to her left that thwarted substitute Emma Donnelly’s effort and give CSMRO the advantage.

“(Palacio-Tellier) had that one read, through and through,” said the game’s colour commentator Jade Kovacevic, the all-time leading scorer in League1 Canada, on the broadcast of the match on OneSoccer.

Despite battling windy conditions, CSMRO’s Eva Bouity and Rose Hughes each buried their subsequent kicks, ensuring the League1 Québec champions went a perfect five-for-five from the spot. Palacio-Tellier’s save made the difference, and she was mobbed by her teammates once the club officially clinched its spot in Sunday’s Championship Final, where it will face the tournament’s defending champions, Whitecaps FC Girls Elite.

The victory was another boost of momentum for head coach Sidi Mohamed Farah’s side, who entered League1 Québec’s Final Four as the fourth seed last month. They club bested AS Blainville and CF Montréal on its way to securing the provincial title and a spot in the Women’s Inter-Provincial Championship. Now it finds itself competing not only for a national title but for a chance to represent Canada at the 2025-26 Concacaf W Champions Cup.

Like its conclusion, the match also started with plenty of drama, after NDCO and CSMRO each scored goals in the first five minutes.

The local side put itself on the scoresheet early when Bryana Gaynor made herself a nuisance in the CSMRO box and bundled home a cross from the right, giving League1 Ontario champions NDCO the lead in the first three minutes.

But Joëlle Gosselin made sure she was in the right place at the right time to put CSMRO level two minutes after NDCO’s opener, finding the bottom corner to finish off a swift counter attack.

CSMRO had Palacio-Tellier to thank for keeping the side in the game after she made two crucial saves before the half-hour mark to foil NDCO’s efforts to retake the lead. The home team thought it had finally beaten the resolute shot-stopper near the midway point of the half, but referee Sheila Couture ruled that the ball did not cross the line after crashing down off the crossbar.

Moments before half-time, Gaynor was tripped in the CSMRO box but NDCO’s Reese Kay’s resulting penalty smashed off the post.

A quieter second half prevailed and the scores remained level going into the shootout, where Palacio-Tellier’s penalty save was the key difference.

CSMRO will now face Whitecaps FC Girls Elite in the Championship Final of the 2024 League1 Canada Women’s Inter-Provincial Championship on Sunday, Aug. 11 at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT. NCDO will vie for third-place honours against Calgary Blizzard in the competition’s third-place match, which will kick off at 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT. Both matches will be played at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ont. and will be broadcast on OneSoccer, the dedicated home for soccer in Canada.