FIELD HOCKEY ROUNDUP: Varsity Blues complete perfect regular season
Saturday, October 18th
Queen's 2 @ Toronto 4
The University of Toronto Varsity Blues field hockey team overcame a 2-0 first half deficit to defeat the Queen's Gaels 4-2 on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 18) at Back Campus Fields.
Blues players Amanda Woodcroft and Madeleine Cho, as well as assistant coach Malinda Hapuarachchi cut their hair in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, Ontario Chapter in a special pre-game ceremony.
The Gaels opened the scoring in the 13th minute with a goal from Nicole Dye. Queen's player Caitlin Gordon scored again in the 32nd minute as the Gaels carried a 2-0 lead into the half.
Lauren Sudac got the Blues on the board in the 47th minute off a corner opportunity, and team co-captain Alex Thicke evened the score five minutes later.
Rookie Morgan Sleeth nothched the eventual game-winner in the 59th minute, and veteran Emma Stairs added an insurance marker in the 64th minute to round out the scoring.
With the win, the Blues improve to 10-0-0 and secure first place in the OUA.
Source: Toronto Varsity Blues
Sunday, October 19th
Queen's 4 @ Western 3
Western 3 @ Guelph 7
TORONTO – Western field hockey wrapped up their season this past weekend at University of Toronto, falling flat to the Queen's Gaels 4-3 and Guelph Gryphons 7-3 in two hard fought matches.
Queen's took an early lead on the Mustangs Sunday morning, leaving the purple and white in a trail as they fought to get on the scoreboard. The Gaels' Lindsay Bjornson netted two goals within the first ten minutes of play, followed by Lindsay Logan to close out the first half at 3-0.
The Mustangs found themselves in a familiar place going into halftime but were able to regain some energy coming out of the break, showing determination to build off their hard work in the first half, despite what the score showed. In a demonstration of that determination, sophomore Jessica Sutherland scored her first goal of the season during a short corner just moments into the second half, as she tipped it past Gaels goalie Zenia Memon.
The Mustangs worked hard as a unit on offense and defense, while Goalie Bethan Blackburn made game saving stops, allowing the 'Stangs to keep the score at bay. And while the Gaels' Taylor Herrington would net their fourth and final goal to make the score 4-1, the game was not quite over yet.
Veteran Megan Duffy and sophomore Linsday Borrell netted a goal each as Western played an aggressive game until the final whistle, battling for a come back. Despite their determination and hard effort, the purple and white could not find a buzzer beater. The thrilling game ended in a 4-3 victory for the Gaels.
Later that day, Western took on the Guelph Gryphons in their last game of OUA regular season. The purple and white opened the scoring 12 minutes into the game off a scramble in front of the Gryphons net. Rookie Nicole Willis got her stick on the loose ball and netted her first career goal as a Mustang.
Despite a notable performance by Western's goalie, Shanshan Tian, and hard working defensive play, the Gryphons scored an equalizer minutes later. Guelph proceeded to follow up with five more goals on a combination of short corners and regular play.
Western eventually responded in the 58 minute of play on a short corner as veteran Katelynn Roganowicz flicked the ball through Guelph's goalie, Megan Kelley, legs and into the back of the net.
Finally, the Mustangs drew a one last penalty corner in the 61 minute and continued to control possession. Veteran Jennifer Chisnall netted the purple and white's third and final goal of the season as Western fell to Guelph 7-3.
Source: Western Mustangs
York 1 @ Toronto 3
Toronto 3 @ Waterloo 0
The University of Toronto Varsity Blues field hockey team defeated the York Lions 3-1 and Waterloo Warriors 3-0 on Sunday, October 19 at Back Campus Fields.
With the wins, the Blues end the regular season in first place in the OUA with a perfect 12-0-0 record. Toronto will play the winner of Waterloo and York in an OUA semifinal next Saturday in Brampton.
In the first game of the day, the Blues found themselves down 1-0 to the Lions in the 25th minute. Blues leading scorer Alison Lee tied the game in the 29th minute, and Emma Stairs scored off a corner opportunity to give Toronto a 2-1 lead at the half.
Amanda Woodcroft notched a goal in the 62nd minute to round out the 3-1 victory.
Lauren Sudac opened the scoring in the second game versus Waterloo, tallying the eventual game-winner in the 20th minute. Woodcroft added another in the 46th minute and Alex Thicke fired a rocket in the 67th minute to complete the perfect season.
Source: Toronto Varsity Blues
Guelph 3 @ Waterloo 0
Western 3 @ Guelph 7
Toronto, Ont. – The Field Hockey Gryphons travelled to Toronto for two match ups Sunday coming away with six points. In game one, Guelph blanked the Waterloo Warriors 3-0. Daniela Jelec (Mississauga, Ont.) scored a pair with the game winner at the 17-minute mark in action and on a penalty stroke with seven minutes remaining in the contest. At 24 minutes, Ciara Condon (London, Ont.) added the insurance marker.
In game two, the Gryphs catapulted past Western by a score of 7-3. The Mustangs hit the scoreboard first 12 minutes in, but Allison Chute (Greenfield Park, Que) retaliated with back to back goals at 17 and 30 minutes to put Guelph in front 2-1 going into the break. A minute into the second frame, captainLaura Straus (Waterloo, Ont.) connected on a penalty corner followed by two goals from rookie Olivia Lane (Guelph, Ont.). Jelec scored the next on another stroke to record a hat trick on the day. Western scored at 58 minutes and the Gryphs bounced back again a minute later as Nicole Paola (Waterloo, Ont.) found the back of the net. Western scored once more to narrow the gap for a 7-3 final.
Laura Straus and Ciara Condon were standouts for the Gryphons. Guelph rounds out league play with a 10-2 record with 43 goals for and 13 against. The Gryphons head to the OUA Championships next weekend. By virtue of their second place finish, Guelph earned a bye through the quarterfinals and advances to the semis on Saturday at 2:00 pm at Cassie Campbell Field in Brampton versus the winner of the Queen's vs Dalhousie match.
Source: Guelph Gryphons
