Emily Goodwin | Editor-in-Chief
Featured image courtesy of York Lions
The Lions field hockey team did not have the playoff run they had worked for this season. They were pushed out of gold medal contention by the Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday, and they were defeated the following day by the Waterloo Warriors in the bronze medal match.
Saturday’s semi-final match saw the scoring get off to an early start, with Lexi Hannah of the Lions scoring six minutes into the opening quarter. The Varsity Blues responded with a goal of their own, with Hilary Ziraldo scoring in the final minutes of the quarter. Emily Ziraldo scored the second and final goal for the Varsity Blues at the 20-minute mark. The score would remain 2-1 in favour of the Varsity Blues, who would advance to the gold medal round while the Lions had to settle for the bronze medal round.
In Sunday’s bronze medal match against the Warriors, the Lions saw every one of their shots blocked by their opponents. After two scoreless quarters, Miranda Hunter of the Warriors was able to score off a penalty corner in the third period to put the Warriors up 1-0 over the Lions. Despite the Lions’ best efforts to come back from this one-point deficit, they ultimately had to concede to the Warriors and finish just off the podium.
The weekend was not all a wash for the Lions though. One of their own received OUA All-Star accolades for her performance this season. Frankie St. Louis, a third-year defender and active leader both on and off the field, recorded four goals this season and started all 12 regular-season games.
