A loss to the Blues and a win against the Gryphons led to the third-place finish
A field hockey match in action. Photo Lennart Kane.
After going undefeated and only being scored against eight times while putting twenty-six shots into the net during the regular season, the women’s field hockey team took their only loss this year against Toronto’s Varsity Blues in the OUA semi-final. UW’s field hockey rival won the marquee matchup 1-0 during sudden death penalty shootouts, then finished silver after falling to the York Lions 3-1. The Warriors solidified their place on the podium by beating the Guelph Gryphons 1-0.
After winning OUA gold last year and finishing bronze in the U Sports championship, expectations were high for the field hockey team this year. Their regular season record was 9-0-1, with a tie against Guelph preventing a perfect season.
York took the most shots this season, 105, and scored the most goals, 35. For comparison, UW took the second most shots, 63, and Guelph had the second most goals at 27. Suffice it to say, fans favoured York to win in the semi-final games on Saturday against the Gryphons. The uncertainty lay between the Warriors and the Blues, who played first in a rematch of last year’s OUA finals.
Prior to the start of the match, fans of all four teams packed the stands and weren’t afraid to show their support, cheering and holding signs for their favourite players.
A Warrior player takes a penalty shot. Photo Lennart Kane.
Once the game began, Toronto put the pressure on UW early, playing a physical game in their half. Foul trouble kept them from putting the ball in the net, picking up ten fouls to Waterloo’s four. Late in the first, UW began shifting the tide, coming dangerously close to the Blues goal. Nothing came from their advance, however this started an intense back and forth between the teams that would last until the final minute.
Neither team recorded a shot on goal in the first half, but early into the third quarter, Waterloo forward Mary Lencz, who tied for first in assists this year, took the first shot of the game. Unfortunately, Toronto goalie Mary Yang saved it, and saved another shot taken by defender Jennifer Munford a few minutes later.
The game would remain scoreless until sudden death began. The crowd sat on the edge of their seats as the tension grew thick enough to suffocate them. The dams broke when Toronto’s Alicia Lung scored the first and only goal of the game. The wind blew the tears from the Warriors’ faces as their bid for a perfect season came to an end after missing their remaining penalty attempts.
Going into Sunday’s bronze medal game, UW’s goalkeeper Grace Miller immediately had her prowess challenged by the Gryphons, saving a shot just three minutes in. UW seemed to be in hot water — after all, Guelph was the only team that nearly beat them in the regular season.
Nevertheless, they quickly silenced Gryphons fans at the end of the first quarter. Twelve minutes in, Lencz scored the only goal of the game, off of a penalty corner shot by midfielder Maeva Turner.
UW’s iron defense held up against the Gryphons onslaught for the rest of the game. Miller refused to let the game be decided in sudden death again, saving five shots. A final defensive save from the team with five minutes left clipped the Gryphons wings, securing the third-place win for UW.
Finishing their season 3-6-2 just three years ago, the Warriors’ improvement has been outstanding. Their season will pick up again next year in the fall, where they’ll try their luck again at an OUA gold medal.
