Guelph men's soccer, UOIT women's soccer named OUA Teams of the Month

BURLINGTON, Ont. - The following teams have been selected as Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Teams of the Month, presented by lululemon, for the month of November.

Winners of the OUA Teams of the Month will receive a team yoga session and a shop night at their local lululemon store.

MALE: Guelph Gryphons – Soccer (4-1 playoffs)

The Guelph Gryphons soccer team has been selected as an OUA Team of the Month, presented by lululemon, after going 4-1 in the month of November en route to capturing the program’s first OUA championship in 26 years.

At the OUA Final Four, the Gryphons opened the tournament with a 3-0 overtime victory over the host and No. 1 seeded Ryerson Rams, setting up a championship showdown with the three-time defending OUA champion York Lions.

Despite trailing by a score of 1-0 just 10 minutes into the contest, the high-powered Gryphons offence came alive and scored three unanswered goals to shock the Lions 3-1, capturing the Blackwood Cup for the first time since 1990.

On home soil at the CIS Championship, the Gryphons needed penalty kicks to defeat an aggressive Acadia Axemen squad 3-2. 

After falling to the UQAM Citadins 3-2 in the semifinals, Guelph bounced back and shut out the Cape Breton Capers 3-0 for their first medal at the national championship in 24 years.  

FEMALE: UOIT Ridgebacks – Soccer (4-1 playoffs)

Coming off their first OUA championship in school history, the UOIT Ridgebacks women’s soccer team has been named an OUA Team of the Month, presented by lululemon.

Entering the OUA Final Four as the No. 1 seed in the East, the Ridgebacks raced past the Windsor Lancers 3-1 and into the finals against a familiar foe.

In the gold medal match against their East Division rivals, the Queen’s Gaels, Taijah Henderson’s goal in the 21^st minute was all UOIT would need as they held on for a 1-0 win to capture their first OUA banner since the women's soccer program joined the OUA in 2012.

Making their CIS Championship debut, the Ridgebacks prevailed over the Trinity Western Spartans 1-0 in the quarter-finals.

After dropping their semifinal by a slim 2-1 margin to the Laval Rouge et Or, the Ridgebacks found themselves once again taking on the tricolour as UOIT and Queen’s met in an all-OUA bronze medal match.

The Ridgebacks rallied around a Katherine Koehler-Grassau strike in the 59^th minute, defeating the Gaels by a score of 1-0 for the second in week to win their first CIS medal.