The University of Toronto Varsity Blues claimed their first provincial title since 2008 with a dominant 6-0 victory over the host Guelph Gryphons at the 2011 OUA field hockey championship, October 28-30.

Meeting in their sixth OUA final since 2005, Toronto knocked off the three-time defending champion Gryphons to earn their 28th provincial title since 1971 and fifth in the last 10 years.

U of T took control from the get-go, maintaining possession and playing the majority of the first half deep in Gryphons territory.

The first goal came at the 26-minute mark when Alex Thick (North Vancouver, BC) scooped the ball over Guelph goalkeep, Kaye McLagan (Mitchell, Ont.) and into the net. Thick would earn her second after capitalizing on a corner opportunity to advance Toronto’s lead to 2-0 at half time.

The Gryphons had their fair share of goal scoring chances in the second half, but weren’t able to take advantage of their corner opportunities or break away situations. The Blues proved once again how dangerous their squad is when executing short corners, and used these opportunities to their advantage throughout the entire match. The Varsity Blues goalkeep, Kathryn Williams (Burlington, ON) was flawless, and would earn the shutout for Toronto.

OUA all-star Alexandra Evanyshyn added two goals in the second half, while Kelley Lusk and Lauren Mansfield added single tallies in the win.

The Blues hold a 76-10-8 head-to-head record over the Gryphons since their first meeting on Oct. 27, 1967.  Guelph’s first win over Toronto came on Sept. 25, 2005. Since then, the two teams have been perennial powerhouses in OUA field hockey, with Toronto holding a slight upperhand (12-10-5) and now claiming a fourth provincial title, compared to the Gryphons three.

The two teams are certain to meeting again as both have advanced to the CIS championship next week, November 3-6, hosted by the Calgary Dinos.