Ridgebacks off to the Final Four with 2-1 victory over Varsity Blues

OSHAWA, Ont. – For the first time in program history, the UOIT women's soccer team is heading to the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) final four, after beating the Toronto Varsity Blues 2-1 in their quarter-final match on Sunday evening.
 
Kayla De Souza (Scarborough, Ont.) would score off a strike from just outside the box in the 73^rd minute, giving the No. 7 ranked Ridgebacks the go-ahead goal and booking them a trip to the final four.

The two-day championship is schedule to take place in Hamilton from Nov. 1-2 at Tim Horton's Field. The Ridgebacks will be joined by Ottawa, Laurier and Western, who all won their quarter-final matches on Sunday.
 
UOIT scored the lone goal of the first half, when Nicole Zajac (Mississauga, Ont.) out-muscled the Toronto defender in the corner and sent a cross straight to Cassandra Sribny (Pickering, Ont.), who buried the ball at the 19 minute-mark.
 
Shortly after halftime, Toronto managed to come up with the equalizer as Christine Zwimpfer sent in a long range shot on goal, that just sailed over the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Melissa Linton (Cobourg, Ont.) to level the score.
 
After the Varsity Blues goal, the Ridgebacks offensive pressure and sense of urgency increased, with UOIT swarming the Toronto goal. It looked as if luck was not on the Ridgebacks side as Toronto's Sarah Watling was able to head out a UOIT attempt from the goal line, followed by a goal being called back by an offside call. However, De Souza was able to break the deadlock, while the Ridgebacks defence stood strong for the remaining twenty minutes of the game.
 
This marks the first time that any team from UOIT has advanced to the OUA semifinals in their respective sport.

The Ridgebacks will take on the Western Mustangs in the OUA semifinals on Saturday. The Mustangs finished the year with a 13-2-1 conference record and beat York 3-0 on Sunday, with all of their goals coming in extra time.

Source: UOIT Ridgebacks