RECAP : GEE-GEES ADVANCE TO OUA FINAL FOUR WITH WIN OVER VARSITY BLUES

The University of Ottawa Gee-Gees women's soccer team advanced to the OUA Final Four with a 2-0 victory over the Toronto Varsity Blues Sunday afternoon at Gee-Gees Field. Emma Lefebvre scored both goals and Margot Shore earned the clean sheet for Ottawa.

"We were fantastic defensively," said head coach Steve Johnson following the win. "It's not just our goalkeeper and backs, it's our midfielders and strikers too who make it a difficult environment for our opponents to play." 

Ottawa opened the scoring in the 37^th minute. A pass forward created confusion among the Toronto defenders and Lefebvre poked the ball away from the goalkeeper. She outworked her marker and slotted it into the net to give the Gee-Gees the lead.

Lefebvre doubled the Ottawa advantage in the 65^th minute. The third-year forward from Kingston again took on two Toronto defenders and the goalkeeper to earn her second goal of the game. 

"Everyone as a team was working hard and that's what contributed to this win," said Lefebvre, who tallied 11 regular season goals to lead the Garnet and Grey. "We knew they were going to come out hard in the second half. At half time, we were calm and continued to play how we always play, which is something we've done all season." 

Margot Shore earned the clean sheet for Ottawa between the sticks, although she was far from busy. It was dominant performance from the uOttawa defence, who held their opponents to just a single shot attempt in the first half.

The teams battled miserable conditions throughout the game. The cold, wet weather didn't dampen the Gee-Gees faithful, who turned out in numbers and were rewarded with a uOttawa victory.

The Gee-Gees advance to the OUA Final Four with the win. As the top remaining seed in the OUA West Division, the Western Mustangs will host the event while the top-seeded Gee-Gees will play in semifinal action against the McMaster Marauders, who finished fourth in regular season play but upset the division leaders from Guelph on Sunday. Queen's also advanced from the East Division. 

The OUA Final Four schedule will be released later on Sunday night. Semifinal matches are played on Friday with the medal games on Saturday.

Ottawa is already guaranteed a spot at the U SPORTS National Championship since they are hosting the competition, but the OUA title is still up for grabs. Ottawa last won the OUA banner in 2014, and have eight in program history. That total leads the conference. 

The 2018 U SPORTS Women's Soccer National Championship will be played at Gee-Gees Field from November 8-11.