AROUND OUA: Lions stretch unbeaten streak to five with wins over Queen's and McGill

Lions stretch unbeaten streak to five with wins over Queen's and McGill

The York University Lions field hockey team came away with a 2-2 draw in their first match and a 2-1 victory in their second at the University of Toronto on Saturday  (Oct. 17) against the Queen's Gaels and McGill Martlets, respectively.
 
The Lions were the only team to score in the first half against Queen's, as Christina DeFranco (Markham, Ont.) scored an unassisted snipe in the 23^rd minute that gave the Lions a 1-0 lead going into the second half.
 
In the second the Lions continued their offensive pressure and Michelle Per (Port Moody, B.C.) scored in the 41^st minute to give the Lions a comfortable 2-0 lead.
 
The Lions would become less comfortable as the Gaels offence was ignited by the two-goal deficit, and Caitlin Gordon beat Shanelle Fernando (Markham, Ont.) to cut the lead to one. Seconds after the Gaels' first goal, they added another coming from an individual effort by Taylor Herington that tied the game up at two goals apiece.
 
The score of 2-2 would hold up as the two sides settled for a draw.
 
In the second game on the day the Lions came away with a defeat of the Martlets. The match began with an early scoring drive by McGill and Noa Roque wired a shot that beat Alycia Gray (Port Moody, B.C.) giving the Martlets a 1-0 lead.
 
The Martlets wouldn't break the strong Lions defence again, however, and the Lions came out roaring after going down by one. First to crack the score board was Jade Robertson (Coquitlam, B.C.), followed by Rebecca Titus (Scarborough, Ont.) two minutes after the Robertson goal with a goal of her own, which gave the Lions a 2-1 win.
 
The Lions have now earned at least a point in five straight games, going 4-0-1 in that stretch, and their record stands at 5-3-1 with one weekend remaining in the regular season. The Lions will look to add to the win column on Saturday (Oct. 24) when they face off against the undefeated Toronto Varsity Blues in Kingston, Ont.

Source: York Lions

Stairs leads Blues over Martlets

Fifth-year forward Tegan Stairs scored three goals in the first half to lead the University of Toronto Varsity Blues field hockey team to a 9-1 victory over the McGill Martlets on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 17) at Back Campus.

Stairs opened the scoring in the 6th minute, finishing off a nice play from Amanda Woodcroft. She added her second of the game in the 21st minute of the match, before Woodcroft gave the Blues a 3-0 lead three minutes later.

Stairs would complete the hat trick in the 28th minute to give Toronto a 4-0 advantage at halftime.

Veteran forward Ally Evanyshyn and sophomore standout Nikki Woodcroft each added two second-half goals, while Nicole Spring scored one in the victory.

The Varsity Blues are back at it tomorrow as they host the Queen's Gaels at 9 a.m. and the Waterloo Warriors at 12:30 p.m. at Back Campus.

The University of Toronto is also the proud host of the 2015 OUA field hockey championship, October 30-31.

Source: Toronto Varsity Blues

Blues beat Gaels and Martlets

The University of Toronto Varsity Blues field hockey team defeated the Queen's Gaels 5-1 and the Waterloo Warriors 7-0 on Sunday (Oct. 18) at Back Campus Fields.

With the win, the Blues improve to 9-1 and sit first in the OUA standings, one game ahead of the Guelph Gryphons (8-1).

In the first game of the day, third-year forward Lauren Sudac opened the scoring in the third minute, but the Gaels responded and evened it up with a goal off the stick of Lauren Taylor.

Fifth-year veteran Tegan Stairs notched her eighth goal of the season right before the whistle and Toronto took a 2-1 lead into halftime.

Third-year forward Anna McNeil notched back-to-back goals in the 40th and 42nd minute and veteran Ally Evanyshyn added an insurance marker in the 47th minute to round out the victory.

McNeil opened the scoring in Toronto's second game of the day, notching what would be the eventual game-winner in the 3rd minute. Stairs put the Blues up by two just four minutes later. 

McNeill scored twice, in the 24th and 29th minutes, notching her fourth and fifth goals of the day, and Nicole Spring tallied in the 34th minute to give Toronto a 5-0 lead at halftime.

Toronto would add two more in the second half, with Amanda Woodcroft finding the back of the net in the 42nd minute and Alison Lee scoring off a corner in the 47th minute.

Sarah Fredo earned both victories in net.

The Varsity Blues return to action next Saturday, October 24 when they travel to Kingston, Ont., for their final two regular season contests of the season. The Blues take on the York Lions at 10:45 a.m. and the Western Mustangs at 4 p.m. 

Source: Toronto Varsity Blues

Gryphons improve to 9-1 with wins over McGill and Waterloo

Toronto, ON – Sunday in Toronto, the Gryphons Field Hockey team picked up a pair of wins to improve their record to 9-1 on the season.
 
In Game 1 against the McGill Marlets, the Gryphons received a strong performance from third year forward Crysta Stubbs (Whitney, ON). The Zoology major netted two early goals (4^th & 9^th minute marks) to get the Gryphons off and running against the Martlets.
 
This marked the second meeting of the season between these two schools as the Gryphons took down McGill 10-0 in the season opener. This match was much more competitive, but the Gryphons would get a little more breathing room when Ally Chute (Greenfield Park, QC) scored on a penalty corner to push the Guelph lead to 3-0. Rookie Olivia Finch (Kimacolm, Scotland) capped the scoring as the Gryphons won 4-0. It was another stellar performance defensively for the Gryphons with McGill crossing the Guelph 25-yard line only twice in the game.

In Game 2 against Waterloo, Ally Chute led the way with four goals while Olivia Lane scored three. The Gryphons rolled to an 8-1 victory over the Warriors, in what was the second meeting in the last five days between the two schools. Last Wednesday (Oct. 14), the Gryphons won 2-0 over Waterloo. This time around, the Gryphons offence was firing on all cylinders with Chute and Lane leading the charge.
 
The Gryphons Field Hockey team will wrap up their regular season schedule next Sunday (Oct. 25) in Kingston when they face the host Gaels and York Lions.

Source: Guelph Gryphons