Banner Season: Mustangs, Gaels look to continue semifinal momentum into championship clash
November 10, 2021
Burlington, Ont. - The 19-team Ontario University Athletics (OUA) women's soccer field has been narrowed down to just two, and after upsetting the conference's top two seeds in their semifinal matches, the Western Mustangs and Queen's Gaels will come together to decide which of the remaining finalists will prevail in Friday's championship at Western Alumni Stadium.
2021 OUA Women's Soccer Championship | Fan Guide
Despite being the lower-seeded squads in their penultimate conference games, neither the Mustangs nor Gaels were expecting anything less than a championship berth heading into Saturday's matches. With confidence in tow and terrific performances to match, both sides saw their quest for the cup continue on and they will now come together for the first time this season in the OUA's final fixture.
For the host squad, they will look to put a bow on a season that saw them take the West Division crown against their five regular season foes. Despite the need to reacclimatize to the university game after the lengthy layoff, the team got out of the gates quick with a pair of wins against Brock. Western would go on to bookend their regular season slate with another strong stretch of momentum-building play, going unbeaten in their final four matches before the page turned to the postseason.
Therein, Western took down Toronto in the quarterfinals behind the game's lone goal from Natalie Abbate, and proceeded to prevail in a thrilling victory in penalty kicks over nationally-ranked Nipissing to secure their spot in the OUA finale. The quarterfinal tally from Abbate was the latest in a string of offensive brilliance from the third-year midfielder. She has found another gear down the stretch for the London squad, which included a four-goal weekend to close out the regular season before netting the pivotal postseason marker last week.
The Toronto, Ont. native wasn't the only one to step up in the postseason; however, as goalkeeper Samantha St. Croix (Port Lambton, Ont.) has also shone between the pipes to emphatically impact the game in net. Having not allowed a goal in her team's two playoff matches, and letting just one of four penalty kicks get past her against Nipissing, the rookie netminder is proving to be poised beyond her years, much like she has been throughout her debut university campaign. St. Croix has started seven games for the purple and white this season, and her highly-ranked marks in both goals against and save percentage proved just how tough she was to beat when she stepped onto the pitch.
She will need to be on her game this weekend when she goes up against a Queen's offence that has been on a roll heading into the championship match. With an average of over 3.1 goals per game during their combined regular season and postseason slate, the six-time champions have been adept at finding the back of the net. And with the combination of Christie Gray, Jenna Matsukubo, and Cecilia Way leading the charge once again in the finale, the Gaels will enter Friday's banner season conclusion confident as they look to capture their first OUA title since 2015.
It was Gray, a fifth-year striker for the Gaels, who rose to the top of the team's offensive onslaught this season, registering 10 goals in 10 games for the Tricolour. The Vancouver, B.C. native finished second in the conference's goal-scoring race as a result, but more than just her ability to put the ball in the net, the veteran student-athlete has put her years of experience to good use off the pitch as well in what has been a terrific all-around season for Gray and the championship-hopeful Gaels.
While Gray has continued to contribute as a senior player for the Gaels, Way has maintained the momentum she garnered from her 2019 foray into the university game. Entering the 2021 campaign as a reigning all-star and OUA rookie of the year, the Victoria, B.C. native made the most of her follow-up season by being one of the team's key offensive cogs once again. In addition to her six goals during the regular season - tying her for second on the team - she also netted a key tally in her team's semifinal tilt with Ottawa en route to the team's 2-0 victory therein.
The goal, which came just four minutes after the game's opening marker from Jamie Foot (North Vancouver, B.C.), helped Queen's exact some revenge on the Gee-Gees, who handed the Tricolour their lone loss this season back on October 22. To get to that opportunity, however, the Gaels first needed to take down the Guelph Gryphons in their quarterfinal game, which they were able to do thanks to an early game-winner from Matsukubo.
Much like Way, Matsukubo registered six regular season goals and that additional postseason tally to help her Gaels produce a second-place season in the East, trailing only the nationally-ranked Gee-Gees through regular season play. The contributions placed her, as well as Way, among the conference's top-10 scorers this season, and will make the third-year striker from Ottawa, Ont. a focal point for the Western defence on Friday.
Among the leaders on that Mustangs back line is Lauren O'Donnell, who will be relied up on help reel in the vaunted Gaels offence when the championship game gets underway at Western Alumni Stadium.
Not only does O'Donnell, a fourth-year senior from London, Ont., bring a consistent on-field presence on defence, but also a leadership element that goes a long way both on and off the pitch. When her team has needed a reset, the ball goes through her, and even beyond the physical aspect of the game, O'Donnell is never afraid to speak up and contribute vocally when something needs to be said either. These tangible and intangible assets will go a long way for a team looking to capture their first championship since 2004 and will no doubt be on display for Western throughout their next 90 (or more) minutes of play.
Having last stepped on the field in some of the most pressure-packed of situations last Saturday, both the Gaels and Mustangs have proven they can withstand the challenges that the quest for the cup can doll out, but they will need to be at their best once more on the grandest stage of them all if they want to walk away from Friday's match as OUA champions.
With the 2021 OUA women's soccer championship on the line, the season's final chapter will take to Western Alumni Stadium on Friday, November 12 as the Queen's Gaels and Western Mustangs begin their battle for banner season supremacy at 7:00pm. For those unable to attend in person, the game can be viewed live on oua.tv, cbcsports.ca, and the CBC Gem app.
2021 OUA Women's Soccer Championship | Fan Guide
Despite being the lower-seeded squads in their penultimate conference games, neither the Mustangs nor Gaels were expecting anything less than a championship berth heading into Saturday's matches. With confidence in tow and terrific performances to match, both sides saw their quest for the cup continue on and they will now come together for the first time this season in the OUA's final fixture.
For the host squad, they will look to put a bow on a season that saw them take the West Division crown against their five regular season foes. Despite the need to reacclimatize to the university game after the lengthy layoff, the team got out of the gates quick with a pair of wins against Brock. Western would go on to bookend their regular season slate with another strong stretch of momentum-building play, going unbeaten in their final four matches before the page turned to the postseason.
Therein, Western took down Toronto in the quarterfinals behind the game's lone goal from Natalie Abbate, and proceeded to prevail in a thrilling victory in penalty kicks over nationally-ranked Nipissing to secure their spot in the OUA finale. The quarterfinal tally from Abbate was the latest in a string of offensive brilliance from the third-year midfielder. She has found another gear down the stretch for the London squad, which included a four-goal weekend to close out the regular season before netting the pivotal postseason marker last week.
The Toronto, Ont. native wasn't the only one to step up in the postseason; however, as goalkeeper Samantha St. Croix (Port Lambton, Ont.) has also shone between the pipes to emphatically impact the game in net. Having not allowed a goal in her team's two playoff matches, and letting just one of four penalty kicks get past her against Nipissing, the rookie netminder is proving to be poised beyond her years, much like she has been throughout her debut university campaign. St. Croix has started seven games for the purple and white this season, and her highly-ranked marks in both goals against and save percentage proved just how tough she was to beat when she stepped onto the pitch.
She will need to be on her game this weekend when she goes up against a Queen's offence that has been on a roll heading into the championship match. With an average of over 3.1 goals per game during their combined regular season and postseason slate, the six-time champions have been adept at finding the back of the net. And with the combination of Christie Gray, Jenna Matsukubo, and Cecilia Way leading the charge once again in the finale, the Gaels will enter Friday's banner season conclusion confident as they look to capture their first OUA title since 2015.
It was Gray, a fifth-year striker for the Gaels, who rose to the top of the team's offensive onslaught this season, registering 10 goals in 10 games for the Tricolour. The Vancouver, B.C. native finished second in the conference's goal-scoring race as a result, but more than just her ability to put the ball in the net, the veteran student-athlete has put her years of experience to good use off the pitch as well in what has been a terrific all-around season for Gray and the championship-hopeful Gaels.
While Gray has continued to contribute as a senior player for the Gaels, Way has maintained the momentum she garnered from her 2019 foray into the university game. Entering the 2021 campaign as a reigning all-star and OUA rookie of the year, the Victoria, B.C. native made the most of her follow-up season by being one of the team's key offensive cogs once again. In addition to her six goals during the regular season - tying her for second on the team - she also netted a key tally in her team's semifinal tilt with Ottawa en route to the team's 2-0 victory therein.
The goal, which came just four minutes after the game's opening marker from Jamie Foot (North Vancouver, B.C.), helped Queen's exact some revenge on the Gee-Gees, who handed the Tricolour their lone loss this season back on October 22. To get to that opportunity, however, the Gaels first needed to take down the Guelph Gryphons in their quarterfinal game, which they were able to do thanks to an early game-winner from Matsukubo.
Much like Way, Matsukubo registered six regular season goals and that additional postseason tally to help her Gaels produce a second-place season in the East, trailing only the nationally-ranked Gee-Gees through regular season play. The contributions placed her, as well as Way, among the conference's top-10 scorers this season, and will make the third-year striker from Ottawa, Ont. a focal point for the Western defence on Friday.
Among the leaders on that Mustangs back line is Lauren O'Donnell, who will be relied up on help reel in the vaunted Gaels offence when the championship game gets underway at Western Alumni Stadium.
Not only does O'Donnell, a fourth-year senior from London, Ont., bring a consistent on-field presence on defence, but also a leadership element that goes a long way both on and off the pitch. When her team has needed a reset, the ball goes through her, and even beyond the physical aspect of the game, O'Donnell is never afraid to speak up and contribute vocally when something needs to be said either. These tangible and intangible assets will go a long way for a team looking to capture their first championship since 2004 and will no doubt be on display for Western throughout their next 90 (or more) minutes of play.
Having last stepped on the field in some of the most pressure-packed of situations last Saturday, both the Gaels and Mustangs have proven they can withstand the challenges that the quest for the cup can doll out, but they will need to be at their best once more on the grandest stage of them all if they want to walk away from Friday's match as OUA champions.
With the 2021 OUA women's soccer championship on the line, the season's final chapter will take to Western Alumni Stadium on Friday, November 12 as the Queen's Gaels and Western Mustangs begin their battle for banner season supremacy at 7:00pm. For those unable to attend in person, the game can be viewed live on oua.tv, cbcsports.ca, and the CBC Gem app.