First-year forward Gabe Gala set up two goals as the University of Toronto Varsity Blues came away with a 2-1 win over the Laurentian Voyageurs in OUA quarter-final action on Saturday, October 25 at Varsity Centre.

With the win, the No. 6 Varsity Blues earn a spot in the OUA men’s Final Four championship, November 1-2 at York University.

Third-year striker Alex Raphael (Toronto, Ont.) got the Blues on the board early, tallying his fifth goal of the season in the ninth minute of the match. He headed a beautiful lob pass from Gala (Brampton, Ont.) over the Voyageurs goaltender and into the far corner of the net.

Toronto held the play for most of the first half with goalkeeper Luciano Lombardi (Scarborough, Ont.) orchestrating the defensive sets and stopping anything that came his way.

Things got interesting in the second half when second-year Laurentian defender Brian Kavaratzis (Midhurst, Ont.) capitalized on a third rebound opportunity to tie the game in the 52nd minute.

The Blues bounced back on their next possession when Gala sent another stellar pass through to third-year striker Nordo Gooden (Kingston, JAM), who beat Voyageurs goalkeeper Scott Cliff (Sudbury, Ont.) to put the Blues up 2-1.

With Laurentian pressing and looking for the equalizer, the Blues defence was able to maintain their poise and kept the visiting Voyageurs at bay. Lombardi again made several key saves in the second half, including a leaping grab on a well-placed free kick with under two minutes to go in the game.

Toronto moves on to OUA semi-final action next weekend. Their opponent will be determined tomorrow afternoon, following the final OUA quarter-final game between the Ryerson Rams and the Carleton Ravens.