Alexander Colle | Sports Editor
Featured image: OUA co-MVP Jaslan Stirling scored twice to propel York to an OUA championship. | Courtesy of Guelph Sports Journal
For the first time in over two decades, the Lions field hockey team hoisted the OUA Championship trophy, after a thrilling 3-2 victory over the second seed Guelph Gryphons.
The Sunday afternoon matchup was the final game of a weekend playoff, where York found themselves facing Ontario’s best teams. The squad began their playoff run on Friday when they took on the McMaster Marauders, a team the Lions defeated earlier in the season by a score of 6-0.
Once again, Mac was no trouble for the powerhouse York team, as they crushed the lowly Marauders by a score of 4-0, with goals courtesy of OUA co-MVP and Rookie of the Year, Jaslan Stirling, and Montana Merante, who each found the back of the net twice in the Lions’ quarter-final victory.
Next was a semi-final matchup on Saturday against a Queen’s Gaels team that York went 3-0 against in the regular season. The Lions once again handled their opponents with ease en route to another 4-0 victory on home soil. This time, the scoring came courtesy of Sara Vollmerhausen, Madison Mitchell, Rebecca Titus, and Mikhaela Slavin.
Finally, in the championship matchup with Guelph, the Lions found themselves an actual challenge. The matchup featured a Gryphons squad that gave York their only loss of the season, a 1-0 defeat on October 11 in Guelph.
The Sunday afternoon game at Alumni Field was a back-and-forth affair featuring the first and second seeded teams in the OUA.
The scoring opened off the stick of Stirling in the fourth minute, who took the ball into Guelph’s zone, weaved through the Gryphon defenders, and slapped one past Guelph goalkeeper Morgan Kelley for her third goal of the playoffs.
Guelph responded to this individual effort seven minutes later when York was given a penalty in their own zone, allowing Gryphon Rebecca Plouffe to set up in front of the net and put one past Lion goalkeeper Alycia Gray to even the score at one goal each.
The Lions responded only three minutes later when Guelph was given a penalty in their own zone, allowing York to set up a shot for Sydney McFaul, who put one past Kelley to give York the lead once again.
However, Guelph responded late in the half, when Gryphon Kayla Magarelli was on the receiving end of some fantastic ball movement in York’s zone, resulting in her easily netting Guelph’s second goal of the game.
Tied 2-2 coming out of the half, both teams were playing with desperation, as they knew the next goal could very well be the game-winner.
In the 42nd minute of play, York got the chance they were looking for when they attained favourable field position with the ball and proceeded to enter the Gryphons zone with exceptional ball movement. After several passes to progress further towards the net, Stirling found the ball and hit home her second goal of the game, giving York a 3-2 lead.
The rest of the game was far from comfortable for the Lions, who found themselves down two players late in regulation, after Paige Warner and Slavin were ejected after receiving yellow cards in the final three minutes.
The last minute saw a Gryphon push towards the Lion’s zone that resulted in a short corner awarded to Guelph right before the final whistle. Guelph inbounded, but did not get a chance to shoot, as Vollmerhausen cleared the ball out of the zone for the final play of the game.
“It was a hard-fought game,” said Stirling at the end of the match. “When we got the second card it was a little tough, but we pulled together as a team and managed to hold it together.”
“It was all hard work from the ladies,” said Head Coach Zeeshan Minhas. “They didn’t give up. It was a back-and-forth game. We finished on our set pieces and Stirling did what she’s been doing all season—that was the difference.”
The Championship game ends an excellent OUA season for the Lions, who went 11-1 in the regular season, 4-0 at the U of T Invitational in early September, and 3-0 in the OUA playoffs.
“It’s one of the best teams I’ve ever played for,” said Stirling. “It’s so much fun and everyone is so amazing. The transition from high school to university wasn’t difficult at all—all the girls here were significant in that process.”
“We’ve worked on building this program since I’ve taken over and I have no words,” added Minhas.
“It’s wonderful. I just want to thank these kids for giving me the opportunity to be on the sidelines today for this gold medal game.
“Also, holding the banner is always a great feeling, especially at home.”
When asked what he expects for CIS Nationals this weekend in Vancouver, Minhas simply responded with: “Gold.”
