Campus is filling back up! Here are the top five sports stories you missed during reading week.
Women’s field hockey goes undefeated
Nine wins, zero losses, and one tie. After crushing the McMaster Marauders 3-1 and the Guelph Gryphons 3-2 this weekend at home, the team added two wins to their record to cruise into the playoffs as the top team in the league. Goalkeeper Grace Miller has maintained an astonishing 83 per cent save percentage, stopping twenty-five shots and only allowing five to go in. After scoring against the Gryphons, forward Sierra Blackburn is now tied for the third-most points in the league. Titans of the OUA, the women’s team is looking to win another provincial championship and improve on their bronze medal USports finish.
Women’s hockey ranks number four in Canada
After clipping the Carleton Ravens wings in their season opener, winning 3-0, the Warriors have had a difficult few games against the Ottawa Gee-Gees, the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks, and the York Lions, losing all three. Nevertheless, still early in the season with plenty of time left to showcase their skill on the ice, the women’s team has been ranked number four in USports in their weekly rankings. UW students shouldn’t write off the team too early: they finished silver last year in the national championships, and have only grown since. The women’s team returns to home ice on Friday, against the Laurier Golden hawks in the Battle of Waterloo.
Men’s soccer heads to the semi-finals
Reading week didn’t stop UW’s athletes from training, and the men’s soccer team was hard at work. After finishing the regular season with eight wins, two losses, and three ties, the second-ranked Warriors faced off against the Brock Badgers on Saturday. The poor Badgers didn’t stand a chance, falling to the Warriors 3-0. Goals from rookie striker Jon Elezi and winger James Arango put the Warriors up 2-0 midway through the second half, and the final dagger came from Matheus Mello at the 76th minute. The Warriors play Toronto’s Varsity Blues on Saturday in Toronto.
Men’s rugby falls to Wilfred Laurier in Battle of Waterloo
In a do-or-die game against the undefeated Golden Hawks with playoff aspirations on the line, the Warriors walked off the field with their heads down in a 45-24 loss. The men’s team came out strong in the first half, keeping the ball in Golden Hawks’ territory and only down by two at halftime, 12-14. Unfortunately, after unloading swaths of pressure for the first ten minutes of the second, the Warriors couldn’t create any scoring opportunities. It was then, down a man due to a yellow card, that the team across the road unleashed everything they had, scoring thirty-one points. Critical errors and injuries from the Warriors kept them down, with the only silver lining being tries from fullback Matt Ball and winger Caelan Fernando. The Warriors ended their regular season 2-4.
Football ends their season early in Hamilton against the McMaster Marauders
After shocking the OUA in week eight by pulling off an incredible one-point comeback win over the York Lions, the Warriors came up short against McMaster last weekend in Hamilton. In a game that would decide whether they’d compete in the playoffs, the Warriors allowed two touchdowns in the first quarter, and finished the game 14-47. Rookie kicker Evan Astolfo continued his hot streak, scoring eight points off of two field goals, an extra point and a rouge point. The Warriors sole touchdown was scored by running back Roy Van Der Veen in the third quarter, from an incredible eighteen yard run.
