Warriors weekly recap: Oct. 24-27

Another week has passed for Warriors Athletics, which saw court sports begin their regular seasons, playoff successes, and the women’s field hockey being crowned Ontario University Athletics (OUA) champions for the first time in over 20 years. 

Thursday, Oct. 24

Starting things off, the men’s hockey team travelled down the road for the battle of Waterloo facing off against the Laurier Golden Hawks. Scoring opened up in the first, as Nate Bierd found the back of the net less than five minutes after the puck drop. Fast forward to the second, Cole Fraser, Jesse Fishman, and Jack Phibbs all had majors bringing the Warriors lead to 4-3. Coming into the final period, Tate Popple found the back of the net less than one minute into the third putting the Warriors up 5-3, the Golden Hawks answered back with two of their own bringing the contest to 5-5 and forcing overtime. Sam McKinney was the overtime hero as he scored the closer to give the Warriors the win, 6-5. Waterloo hockey takes its rightful spot back at the top of the Battle of Waterloo. Way to go boys!

Friday, Oct. 25th

The men’s volleyball team hit the road to play the University of Guelph Gryphons opening up their 2024-2025 regular season. The Warriors were not able to find success as they dropped all three sets 25-18, 25-22, and 25-18 respectively to a tough Gryphon squad. Liam MacArthur had a strong performance, as he led the way with 14 kills. The Warriors had a quick turnaround as they rematched the Gryphons the following day. 

The women’s team also opened up their 2024-2025 campaign with a trip to Guelph. The Women Warriors came out firing and they looked very impressive. Clean sweeping the Gryphons’ winning all three sets 25-21, 25-21, and 25-16. Rachel Meilikhan performed well accounting for 12 kills, one ace, and seven digs. Madison Seo was teammate of the year as she dropped 25 assists. Similar to the men’s team, the women have a quick turnaround where they face off with the Gryphons again on Sunday. 

Similar to volleyball, both the men’s and women’s basketball teams hit the road to open up their 2024-2025 regular seasons. The only difference was they had to go a little further – and by a little I mean a lot – a 15-hour bus ride to Thunder Bay, Ont. to face off with the Lakehead Thunderwolves. The men were unable to find success, as they fell to the Thunderwolves 78-64. Isaiah McRae had a strong performance as he dropped 17 points, adding five rebounds and two assists. The men’s team will be back in action as they return to their home PAC to face off with the Carleton Ravens on Friday, Nov. 1.

The women, on the other hand, were able to leave Thunder Bay with a win as they posted a dominating performance, knocking off the Thunderwolves 55-41. The Warriors jumped out to a nine-point lead in the first quarter and didn’t look back. It was a strong team performance that allowed the Warriors to find success as nine players registered points on the scoresheet. They will also be back in action on Nov. 1 as they play host to the University of Carleton Ravens. 

Men’s hockey had a quick turnaround as they headed down to St. Catharines, Ont. to face off against the Brock Badgers. The Warriors picked up right where they left off and knocked off the Badgers 5-3. Emmet Pierce, Tate Popple, Nate Bierd, and Liam Fedak were all able to find the back of the net for the Warriors, but Cole Fraser was the hero as he put the nail in the coffin for the Badgers, scoring an empty netter with less than two minutes to go in the third. Warriors improve to 3-4 on the regular season. 

Saturday, Oct. 26th

Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams were in action as they were competing for gold at the OUA championships on Oct. 26 at Osprey Golf Course in Callander, Ont. The women’s team was able to finish fourth overall with a strong individual performance from Paige Breedon, posting a time of 29:20, finishing 10th overall. The men’s team was able to secure a seventh place finish, with Jacques Tiessen leading the way for the Warriors finishing with an impressive time of 25:49.  

Women’s volleyball was back in action as they had a Friday rematch against the University of Guelph Gryphons. The ladies picked up right where they left off and knocked the Gryphons down 3-1 taking sets one, three and four. It was much the same as the Friday performance, with Rachael Meilikhan accounting for 19 kills, Madison Seo with 37 assists and Avery Kelly adding 17 digs. The Warriors moved to 2-0 on the season. 

Men’s volleyball was back in action as they looked to write their wrongs and find a win in a Saturday rematch against the University of Guelph. The men were able to do just that. After dropping the first set, they came firing back and won sets 2-4. Owen Paddock led the way with 17 kills, with Cohen Peters and Liam MacArthur adding eight digs each. The Warriors move to 1-1 on the season. 

Women’s hockey hit the ice as they travelled to Kingston, Ont. to take on the University of Queen’s Golden Gaels. The Warriors were able to come out on top knocking off the Gaels 3-2. Erika Porter had an outstanding performance as she was able to find the back of the net on two separate occasions. But Leah Herrfort was the hero of the day, as she scored the go-ahead goal in the third which allowed the Warriors to secure the win. 

Men’s hockey hit the road as they played a non-conference, exhibition game against the University of Princeton. It was a tough day for the Warriors as they fell 6-0 against Princeton, an Ivy League powerhouse. The Warriors will be back in action on home turf on Oct. 30 as they will play host to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues. 

Shhh, did someone say playoffs? You heard that right, the men’s rugby team hosted the University of Trent Excalibur in some OUA quarter-final playoff action. The Warriors were dominant from the jump and steamrolled University of Trent. Imposing their will, the Warriors came out on top 64-17 and earned a trip to the OUA semi-finals. Sunday, Nov. 2 the Warriors travel down to Guelph to face off with the Gryphons and will look to punch their ticket to the OUA finals. 

More Warrior playoff action coming at you – the women’s field hockey team travelled to Toronto, Ont. where they were competing in the OUA playoffs tournament. The Warriors came up big, upsetting the top-ranked undefeated host team University of Toronto Varsity Blues 1-0 to earn their right to compete for OUA gold. Sarah Schnarr scored the lone goal that proved to be enough to get the Warriors this win. But it was Marielle Fernbeck’s performance in net that stole the show, stopping all six shots in goal she faced and posting the shutout. Congratulations ladies, go get that gold! 

Sunday, Oct. 27th

Finally, to close the week off, the Women’s hockey team wrapped up their road trip as they faced off against the University of Ontario Tech Ridgebacks. It was an offensive explosion early in the game that allowed the Warriors to come out victorious. The Warriors scored six goals in the first two periods and were able to hold back the surging Ridgebacks as they scored three unanswered but it was not enough. It was a strong overall team performance as six different warriors were able to find the back of the net. Warriors win 6-5 and move to 5-1 on the year. 

Going for gold, the Women’s field hockey team gets set to take on the University of Guelph Gryphons for OUA gold. It was a slow start for both teams but in the span of three minutes, the Warriors jumped out to a two goal lead. Mary Lencz scored the first major putting the Warriors up 1-0. Three short minutes later, Isabella Beck on an assist from Sarah Schnarr was able to find the back of the net proving to be enough as the Warriors came out on top of this one 2-0, being crowned OUA champions for the first time in over 20 years. Congratulations ladies, great job and way to make the entire university proud! 

The Warriors now have their eyes set on going for national gold as this weekend they will travel to York University to compete in nationals. Good luck to the team and go get that gold!