Guelph beats Western in penalty kicks to win first OUA women’s soccer championship

OSHAWA, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons won their first OUA women’s soccer championship in program history after beating the Western Mustangs 3-0 in penalty kicks in the gold medal match on Sunday afternoon at Oshawa Civic Fields.

Guelph goalkeeper and OUA all-star Libby Brenneman did not allow a single goal on three Western attempts in penalty kicks, while Victoria Hinchliffe scored the game-clinching goal for the second straight match.

“The nerves were going, but it is something that I have loved to do since I was super, super young and the girls know it too,” said Brenneman. “Having them trust me so much and having practiced them so much this year, it was phenomenal. Our girls stepped up and scored the goals they needed to and I made the saves I needed to and here we are.”

Guelph’s Kaylin Twardowski and Allison Clouse also converted on their attempts.

“I never thought this was going to happen in my four years here with this team,” said Brenneman. “It’s amazing. Everyone says you will have no words for it but I actually have no words for it.”

Guelph would trail for their second straight game at the championship as Western’s Julia Crnjac scored the opening goal of the match in the 34th minute. Western held a 5-2 advantage in shots after 45 minutes.

Coming out of the locker room at half, the Gryphons looked like a completely different team and they were rewarded for their efforts as Hayley Howes would score the equalizer eight minutes in.

The Gryphons would outshoot Western 7-1 in the half, but Western goalkeeper Megan Girardi did not allow another goal against, sending the game into extra time.

In the next half hour of play, Western would be the aggressor outshooting the Gryphons 5-1 but they could not find a way to beat Brenneman for the game-winner, setting up the dramatics in penalty kicks.

“Western’s always been a really difficult opponent for us,” said Guelph head coach Shayne Campbell, who took over the program this spring. “The games are always so tight, the margins are so thin and today in penalties we happened to come out on the right side. I am really proud of the way the girls played today. It wasn’t easy going down 1-0. I think it just exemplifies our year. There is no quit in this team.”

This marked the first time since 2013 that the gold medal match was decided in penalty kicks. Western was also on the wrong side of that result as they fell to the Laurier Golden Hawks.

“It’s very special. It’s just a credit to the department and program,” said Campbell. “There is a lot of support for this women’s soccer team and we’re grateful of all the friends and supporters of our university team.”

Both Guelph and Western advance to the U SPORTS women’s soccer championship hosted by the University of Manitoba from Nov. 9-12.

Earlier in the day the Queen’s Gaels walked away with a lopsided 3-0 victory over the host UOIT Ridgebacks to claim bronze.

UOIT had a similar fate to their opening day loss at the championship as both teams were unable to score in the first half, followed by a flurry of goals in the second half.

Queen’s opened the scoring in the rematch of the 2016 OUA gold medal game with Lidia Bradau scoring in the 48th minute. Just six minutes later Matija Skoko made it a two-goal lead for the Gaels on bobbled ball by UOIT’s keeper. 

The momentum for Queen’s continued as they scored their third in 14 minutes. Alexandra Doane broke free in the 61st minute and Victoria Savage (Woodbridge, Ont.) was unable to guess where Doane was going to put it as the Gaels held on for the three-goal victory.

Oshawa native Savannah Meyer-Clement struggled to find words when asked about winning bronze in her hometown, capping off her five-year OUA career.

“It feels good and I was glad we were able to finish it off with a good win,” said Meyer-Clement. “The team was able to come over to my house and have a nice team dinner. It was nice to have everyone (family and friends) around all weekend.

“There are no words. It’s been a really awesome career and I love all the girls very much.”

This is Queen’s third medal in three years after winning gold in 2015 and silver in 2016. The 2017 championship was the first time UOIT hosted women’s soccer.