From setbacks to success: Warriors women’s field hockey’s journey to OUA gold

Only seven days after carving their name in UW Women’s Field Hockey legacy, the Warriors were back in action against the UPEI Panthers in the 2024 U Sports Invitational Field Hockey Championship bronze medal match. The Warriors finished their season with a commanding 5-0 victory, capping off a year filled with remarkable achievements. Not only did they finish 3rd nationally, they also won the first OUA title that women’s field hockey has seen in over 20 years and the fourth in program history. 

Yet although the season wrapped up dominantly, the 2024 campaign did not get off to the same start. While the Warriors stumbled out of the gate going 0-2 and being outscored 0-3, the tides turned quickly into their favour. They quickly went on a roll and won the next 6 in a row outscoring opponents 21-3, not even getting scored on in four of these games. 

 Imprint had the opportunity to sit down with the team captain, MVP of the U-Sports National Championship Tournament, 2x All-Canadian Megan Hobson to discuss the season. When asked about her thoughts on the slow start, she shared: “Coming into this season, we were trying to do a lot of new things, including new formations, but eventually, we got back to what we found success with in the past.” 

Going back to the basics would prove to be the recipe for success, allowing the Warriors to be 6-2 rolling into their last 2 games of the season against powerhouse Guelph Gryphons. While looking to finish off the regular season on the right note, however, these 2 games did not go as planned. The Warriors lost both matchups going 0-2 in a fashion reminiscent of the beginning of their 2024 campaign. This marked the end of the regular season, with the Warriors finishing at 6-4 and securing the 4th and final seed in the OUA tournament-style championship.

When asked how the losses to Guelph affected the team’s momentum or confidence, Hobson responded: “We stumbled into those Guelph games and got off to slow starts, but we knew that as a team, we’re much better than that.” She added: “ going into the playoffs we were kinda considered underdogs, but we did not see ourselves like that, our coaches constantly instilled in us that we were the best team in the league, we truly believed that, we just needed to go out there and prove it”.

And prove it they did. The Warriors walked into the host teams’ tournament home field and knocked off number one ranked UofT in a 1-0 game. “The University of Toronto has kind have been a dynasty in OUA field hockey,” Hobson says. “They knocked us out of the playoffs last year in shoot-out, so this win felt pretty good.” This win earned them a spot in the OUA gold medal game against unofficial rivals, the University of Guelph. 

And just like that dominant performance in the bronze medal game against UPEI, the Warriors posted a similar performance against the University of Guelph. The Warriors came out on top 2-0 and secured the program’s first OUA gold in over two decades. The Warriors proved they could deliver when it mattered most, bouncing back to defeat two of the three teams that had bested them in the regular season.

In opening the interview, the question was raised about what the expectations going into this season. “It wasn’t necessarily OUA champions or bust,” Hobson says, “but we all knew how talented this team was, we returned a lot of our players from last year team and we had a good playoff run, we were hungry and knew what we were capable of” When asked about expectations for the next season, Hobson shared that the majority of the team is returning for at least one more. If they continue on this trajectory, the Warriors will undoubtedly be strong contenders for the national championship heading into the 2025 season.

 Regardless, there is plenty to celebrate regarding this 2024 season. Congratulations to all members of the 2024 Waterloo Women’s Field Hockey team on a truly historic campaign.