November 8, 2015

Gee-Gees bounce back to win OUA bronze

Seniors Cynthia Leblanc and Julia Francki came up big in the last collegiate game of their careers as the uOttawa Gee-Gees found a way to come together after a tough semifinal loss and registered a 2-0 win against York in the OUA bronze medal game.

York

Ottawa

Final	1	2	T
York ()	0	0	0
Ottawa ()	1	1	2

Seniors Cynthia Leblanc and Julia Francki came up big in the last collegiate game of their careers as the uOttawa Gee-Gees found a way to come together after a tough semifinal loss and registered a 2-0 win against York in the OUA bronze medal game.

Yesterday's heart-breaking loss and quick turn around between games seemed to suck the energy out of the Gee-Gees early on. The Lions took much of the offensive play to Ottawa, but were unable to muster many high quality of scoring chances. When they did, Gee-Gees keeper Cynthia Leblanc was strong, stopping all 5 shots in the first half.

Leblanc's solid play eventually paid off, as a Gee-Gees counter attack led to a yellow card on York's Sarah Wong. On the ensuing free-kick, Julia Francki found a loose ball 10 yards from the goal line and fired a laser past Taylor Grant to give the Gee-Gees a 1-0. Francki, like Leblanc, was playing in her final game as a Gee-Gee.

The Gee-Gees came into the second half with much more energy than the first. Ottawa pushed the offensive pace, prohibiting York from establishing a meaningful counter-attack.

After a great rush by Thea Nour, Andrée-Anne Sabourin fired a change up shot from the middle of the box that hit a York player and fooled Grant, bouncing into the far left corner of the goal. The goal was credited as an own goal on York. The insurance marker came in the 70th minute.

Even with a 2-0 lead, the Gee-Gees continued to press the attack, but were unable to add any more to their lead.

Leblanc was excellent in goal, stopping all 10 shots that the Lions fired her way. The Gee-Gees keeper was named the Bronze Medal MVP.

Grant made six saves in defeat as the Lions dropped two in a row during the OUA Final Four weekend.

The Gee-Gees will say goodbye to seniors Leblanc, Francki, Pilar Khoury, Mélissa Pesant, and Elisabeth Wong.

Source: Ottawa Gee-Gees