AROUND OUA: Gryphons take down defending OUA champs

Gryphons take down defending OUA champs

London, ON – Saturday morning in London the Gryphon Field Hockey team picked up a massive 9-5 win over the defending OUA Champion University of Toronto Varsity Blues. According to the Sports Information Department at U of T, the nine goals scored were the most the Varsity Blues have surrendered in program history.

The Gryphons got off to a great start thanks to a goal from All-Canadian Ally Chute just two minutes into the game. By the 15 minute mark, the Gryphons had built up a 3-0 lead thanks to goals from Olivia Lane and Ciara Condon – the second of which came on a penalty corner. Lane would strike again before the break giving the Gryphons a 4-1 lead at the half.

This marked the second meeting of the season between these two OUA Field Hockey powerhouses. The Gryphons were on the wrong end of a 5-2 score line in their first meeting of 2015 after U of G admittedly squandered several good opportunities. This time around however, the Gryphons were clinical in finishing their chances. Just over 60 seconds into the 2nd half, Crysta Stubbs scored for the Gryphons to put them up 5-1. The Varsity Blues would battle back to make it a 6-4 game but that was as close as they would get as U of G would score three of the game's final four goals to win convincingly 9-5.

Olivia Lane finished with a hat trick, goalie Morgan Kelley was outstanding between the posts, and head coach Michelle Turley described the match as "a total team effort in which every player on the roster contributed."

The Gryphons are now 5-1 on the season and will be in action again on Wednesday, October 7 at home against Western. Game time is set for 7:30pm.

Source: Guelph Gryphons

Lions blank Mustangs and Warriors to move about .500

The York University Lions field hockey team went undefeated on Saturday (Oct. 3) as it took down the Western Mustangs and the Waterloo Warriors by the same 1-0 score in London, Ont.
 
With the back-to-back wins, the Lions now have a winning streak of three games and sport a season record of 4-3-0, which has them third in the OUA standings. Their win total has already surpassed the three they put up all of last year, with five games still remaining on the schedule.
 
The Lions did not allow a single goal against on Saturday as they shut out both the Mustangs and Warriors. Solid goalkeeping from both Shanelle Fernando (Markham, Ont.) and Alycia Gray (Port Moody, B.C.) proved to be too much for their OUA rivals.
 
Both games only had one scorer which came from forward Michelle Per (Port Moody, B.C.). Per now has three goals in her past three games, and continues to be a dominant offensive threat the moment she steps onto the field. Per scored four goals all of the 2014 season and is on pace to surpass that total after the Thanksgiving break.
 
The Lions will now have a long rest over Thanksgiving weekend before they face off against the Queen's Gaels and McGill Martlets on Saturday, Oct. 17 at the University of Toronto. The first match will be played at 10:45am against the Gaels and the second will go at 4pm against the Martlets.

Source: Yorks Lions

Mustangs drop games to Guelph and York

The Mustangs had a busy week, dropping a Tuesday night game under the lights to the Guelph Gryphons before falling to the Waterloo Warriors 1-0 over the weekend.

The purple and white consistently showed up hungry to win and put up a good fight, yet struggled to find the back of the net. However, the Mustangs defensive game plan was more than effective as goalkeeper Marielle Fernback displayed her veteran experience, often making game-saving saves to keep the Mustangs in the game.

Western faced a 4-0 defeat on September 22, as they hosted one of the top OUA teams in the Guelph Gryphons at TD Stadium. Knowing it would be a tough match, the purple and white were prepared for a strong 70-minute defensive match. Although the Gryphons dominated with a total of 44 circle entries, the Mustangs guarded the net and warded off various scoring opprtunitues.

The Mustang's then traveled to York University this past Saturday, undergoing a tough 1-0 loss to the Waterloo Warriors. Western came out with high momentum in the first half managing to put ample pressure on the Warriors. After a long first half of out competing Waterloo, the game still remained scoreless.
 
The Mustangs continued to pressure the black and white well into the second half of the game with great communication travelling up the field.  Despite their solid defensive unit, the Warriors managed to score on a short corner with just six minutes remaining in the game. With their greatest efforts, the Mustangs tried to get on the scoreboard in the short time they had left. However, they could not prevail, finishing the game.
 
The Mustang's are hosting the next set of games in the OUA schedule at TD Stadium Saturday October 3. The purple and white will be seeking revenge against the York Lions at 9 a.m. before flipping to take on the Univerisity of Toronto for the first time this season at 4 p.m.

Source: Western Mustangs

Guelph hands Varsity Blues first loss of the season

The University of Toronto Varsity Blues field hockey team fell 9-5 to the Guelph Gryphons on Saturday, October 3 in London, Ont.

Guelph got out to an early 3-0 lead but rookie Sarah Pendreigh got the Blues on the board in the 22nd minute with a goal off a penalty corner opportunity. The Gyrphons added one more and took a 4-1 lead into halftime.

Veteran forward Tegan Stairs scored three goals in 10 minutes to rally the Blues, but it wasn't enough as the Gryphons responded with three more. Amanda Woodcroft added a late goal off a penalty corner in the loss.

The Blues did bounce back with a 3-1 victory over the Western Mustangs later this afternoon.

Alison Lee opened the scoring in the 23rd minute and Toronto took a 1-0 lead at the half. Emma Stairs notched the eventual game-winner in the 39th minute, but Western cut the deficit to one just two minutes later.

Nicole Godman would add an insurance marker in the 67th minute and the Blues came away with the 3-1 win.

Source: Toronto Varsity Blues