LAVAL, Que. – Pierre-Rudolph Mayard’s acrobatic goal in injury time lifted AS Blainville to a 2-1 win over the Oakville Blue Devils on Wednesday in the first leg of the qualifying round of the expanded Canadian Championship.
Blainville had a corner kick in the 92nd minute that an AS forward volleyed toward the net but Oakville goalkeeper Matthew George blocked.
The rebound was kicked at again, bouncing off the crossbar before Mayard launched himself into the air, using a bicycle kick to drive the ball into the net from in close.
Mitchell Syla had given Blainville an early lead, but Anthony Novak tied it up for Oakville before the half.
Oakville, the League 1 Ontario champion, and the Quebec club champion AS Blainville are playing in a new two-legged qualifying round.
The Oakville home leg will be on June 13 at the Ontario Soccer Centre in Vaughan.
The winner faces the USL’s Ottawa Fury FC in the second qualifying round, with defending Canadian and MLS champion Toronto FC awaiting the victor. The Montreal Impact play the Vancouver Whitecaps in the other semifinal.
The Canadian champion gets to hoist the Voyageurs Cup and earns a berth in the CONCACAF Champions League.
Blainville, which clinched the 2017 Quebec title with three matches remaining, currently sits atop the PLSQ standings with a 4-0-2 record. Mayard leads the league with six goals.
The debut of the Canadian Premier League in 2019 will further expand the Canadian Championship field.
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