The undefeated University of Toronto Varsity Blues women’s lacrosse team will look to end the championship reign of the Laurier Golden Hawks this weekend (Oct. 31 – Nov. 1) at Ron Joyce Stadium in Hamilton, Ont. and make their first OUA final appearance since they last won the championship in 2002.

Having won all 12 games this season, the Blues are in fine form to reclaim the glory monopolized by Laurier for six straight seasons, but they have get past the Golden Hawks first.

The Blues are undefeated for a reason. After a couple of years of adjusting to a wave of new recruits, the team is now championship calibre. With the top three OUA scorers wearing Toronto colours, it’s not hard to see why this team is unbeaten.

Veteran attacker Jen Held (Brampton, Ont.) is the top scorer in OUA this season with 29 goals and 34 assists for 63 points. Fellow attackers Yoko Murphy (Toronto) and Taryn Grieder (Cobourg, Ont.) both finished the regular season with 53 points (Murphy with 46 goals and seven assists; Grieder with 35 goals and 18 assists). The total goals scored by all three players account for 64 percent of the team’s total offence.

Offence is obviously Toronto’s strongest asset and Laurier’s defence will need to shut down all three star players.

Laurier will rely on third-year player Braedyn O’Rahilly (Whitby, Ont.) for some much needed offensive production. O’Rahilly was among the league-leaders in points, behind Toronto’s trio of players, with 17 goals and 35 assists for 52 points.

Also supporting the Hawks offence is Laura Juha (Mississauga, Ont.), who has added to the team’s 119 goals with 18 of her own.

Regardless of history, both teams will be playing for keeps, as Laurier looks to keep its championship title and Toronto looks to keep its undefeated status through to the end.

In the weekend’s second semi-final match, the No. 3 Queen’s Gaels will look to defeat the second-place Western Mustangs.

This could prove to be a close game, as both teams have nearly identical records (Queen’s is 8-4-0; Western is 9-3-0), but the Gaels know first hand the key to Western’s success.

These teams met twice in the regular season with Western getting one in the win column both times (13-9 on Sept. 19; 8-7 on Oct. 24), but Queen’s definitely has the offensive power they need to get on the scoreboard.

Attacker Jacqueline Byers (Mississauga, Ont.) and midfielder Lisa McLaughlin (Whitby, Ont.) are both in the top 10 in scoring; Byers has 28 goals and 16 assists on the season and McLaughlin has 24 goals and 13 assists for 37 points.

Fifth-year Mustang Lindsay Doxtator (Southwold, Ont.) is the team leader for Western with 21 goals and 16 assists and just a few points behind her sit two teammates, Nicole Pullen (Westside, Ont.) and Emmi Morris (Brampton, Ont.), who have 34 points each.

Queen’s has been the bridesmaid in OUA the past four seasons, advancing to the final only to have their season ended in defeat by Laurier.

2009 OUA LACROSSE SCHEDULE

Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009
12:00 p.m. Laurier (4) vs. Toronto (1)
2:00 p.m. Queen’s (3) vs. Western (2)

Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009
12:00 p.m. OUA Bronze Medal (Semi-final Losers)
2:00 p.m. OUA Final (Semi-final Winners)

Source: Ontario University Athletics