Banner Season: Semifinals set after action-packed day one competition
Peterborough, Ont. - Day 1 of the 2018 OUA Lacrosse Championships, hosted by the Trent Excalibur, was full of excitement and some close matches, with a clearer picture coming together at Justin Chiu Stadium.
The top three teams heading into the day 1, the host Trent Excalibur, Queen’s Gaels and Laurier Golden Hawks prevailed in their respective matches, with the Toronto Varsity Blues rounding out the medal round qualifications. The first semifinal will feature the Queen’s Gaels and their East Division Counterpart Toronto Varsity Blues at 3:15pm, and the second semifinal between Trent and Laurier at 5:00pm.
Game 1 – UOIT vs Brock
Jessica Ciolfi set the pace for the Brock Badgers with a five goal game to lead her team to victory over the UOIT Ridgebacks in Game 1 of the tournament.
With a quarterfinal appearance against the top qualifying team from the West, the Laurier Golden Hawks, on the line, the game was tight through the first 15 minutes of the game, seeing the teams tied at 2-2. The Badgers would close out the half with six unanswered goals, though, putting the Ridgebacks in a hole they simply would not be able to escape.
Brock would keep up the pressure in the second half, adding an additional four goals to UOIT’s three, leading to a final score of 14-5.
Game 2 – McMaster vs York
The Marauders got on the board first but relinquished the lead after two quick goals by the York Lions’
Shauna Ayers and Sonya Mwambu. McMaster would take back the lead late in the second, with Sophie Skillen putting away three of their 5 first half goals to lead 5-2 at the break.
The team from Hamilton would pour it on in the second half, with Meagan Capati, Kasey Pfau and Zoe Collis each scoring twice. York’s Shauna Ayers would bank her second of the match, but it wasn’t enough as the Marauders took the game with a final of 12-3.
Game 3 – Western vs Toronto
The old saying “the final score doesn’t tell the tale of the game” is apt for this one. The 3rd ranked team from the East, Toronto Varsity Blues, took the field against the West’s 2nd seed and reigning champion Western Mustangs. Western got on the board 75 seconds into the game through Fawn Porter’s first of four goals in the match. The Mustangs would take the second goal of the game as well before the Varsity Blues answered through Laurel McGillis. McGillis would add another, but at the half-time break, the Mustangs held a 5-4 lead.
The second half started out tight, but Toronto persisted scoring two goals in the first ten minutes. It was a little back and forth with both teams grabbing two goals in the second half. Balance scoring for the Varsity Blues saw four players score at least two goals, three of which came in the final 7:30 of play. Western would scrap but couldn’t find the back of the net in the late stages of the game. Toronto would deservedly take a hard fought match 12-8, ensuring that the Mustangs would not take their seventh championship in eight years.
Game 4 – Trent vs Guelph
Having overcome the Gryphons 8-6 last Sunday in their final game of the regular season, the host Trent Excalibur were hoping to replicate that result as they faced off against the Guelph Gryphons for the second time in less than a week.
Powered by three first-half goals for #72 Leah Michel, the Excalibur came ready to play, and had the Gryphons on their heels with a 6-2 lead after 30 minutes. The Guelph coaching staff must have known just what to say at the break though, as they would score barely a minute into the second half. The Excalibur score two more over the next 10 minutes, including Michel’s fourth of the match and they would keep control of the game until a late push by the Gryphons. Guelph got three goals from three different scorers in a five minute span, but just couldn’t make up the ground.
The Excalibur would take the game with the same final score as their last match, 8-6. This would line the Excalibur up to meet the winner of Laurier/Brock at 5pm on Saturday.
Game 5 – Laurier vs Brock
The Brock Badgers second match of the day would pit the West division’s fifth seed against its first seed. In classic underdog fashion, the Badgers came out without fear, scoring the first goal of the match through Jessica Ciolfi’s first of three goals in the match. Laurier would find an answer through Taylor Miller, and the teams would stay locked at ones for the first twenty minutes of the game. The teams exchanged the next two goals, but two goals in the final 3 minutes of play for the Golden Hawks changed the tides.
As the weather started to cool down, Laurier would continue tightening their grip against the energetic Badgers and in the end would take the game 8-4. Taylor Miller and Rose Williams would both have two goals for the Golden Hawks.
Game 6 – Queen’s Vs McMaster
The Queen’s Gaels had a tremendous season going 12-0-1 to finish without a loss. The Gaels proved exactly why they are considered one of the strongest contenders for the Patterson Cup as they scored early and often against a McMaster Marauders team playing their second match in seven hours.
Brittany Schwende would pace the team with 2 goals and 3 assists, while teammates Molly Fisher and Annie Lloyd each added three goals. McMaster’s Sophie Skillen would lead the offensive charge for the second game in a row with two goals. Unfortunately, for the Marauders, they could not find a way to stop a Gael’s team that looked clinical in their finishing. The final score would be 15-2 for the Gaels.
The action continues on Saturday in Peterborough, with ninth place game between UOIT and York at 10:00am. Day 2 will continue with consolation semifinals at 11:45am featuring Guelph and Brock, and Western and McMaster at 1:30pm. Semifinal action at 3:15pm has the Toronto Varsity Blues up against the Queen’s Gaels, followed by the Trent Excalibur hosting the Laurier Golden Hawks at 5:00pm.