VICTORIA (CIS) – A last minute goal from the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds tied the game 2-2 with the Toronto Varsity Blues, dropping the OUA champions to Sunday's bronze-medal match.
The T-Birds will play hosts Victoria, who also went through on goal differential, in an all Canada West final.
The Thunderbirds earned their tying goal off a penalty corner from Sophie Jones, while Hannah Haughn scored UBC's first goal. Rowan Harris was pivotal in goal for the T-Birds as UBC will play for a historic fifth-straight national title.
Toronto earned goals from Alison Lee on a penalty corner and Emma Stairs in free play. Rookie keeper Sara Fredo made six saves in the game, while Amanda Woodcroft, Nicole Woodcroft and first year defender Hilary Ziraldo had stand out performances.
"We missed a lot of chances in the first half and we allowed it to get down to the last moment," said Toronto head coach John De Souza. "It's a tough way to lose obviously and the girls are going to have to recover. I really believe (UBC) is one of the best teams in the country and we don't get that very often. We are disappointed but I'm proud of what we accomplished all season."
UBC started the match off well riding their momentum from yesterday's win as Sarah Keglowitsch earned the T-Birds a penalty corner in the second minute of play. Jones' sweep shot from the top of the circle was saved by the diving stick of Toronto keeper Fredo.
The Varsity Blues continued to generate their attack from CIS Player of the Year Tegan Stairs. The five-foot-ten midfielder drove the right side and hit it across to Ally Evanyshyn whose deflection earned a penalty corner for the Varsity Blues. The set piece resulted in a close-range chance for Nicole Woodcroft but her shot was saved by the right kicker of UBC keeper Harris.
In the 15th minute Toronto had a strong base line run from Lauren Sudac who found UB defender Jones' foot in the circle. Lee sent in an off-paced lifted shot right up the middle to lift Toronto up 1-0.
Toronto continued to push as Harris was forced to make back-to-back saves in the 18th minute. One of the shot's coming on the back hand from Evanyshyn was steered away by the pads of the second-year T-Birds keeper.
The Thunderbirds' back line continued to do well to prevent Toronto from doubling their lead as Evanyshyn had another shot booked for goal as the high ball was past Harris but fifth-year UBC defender Katrina Davis made a goal line save. The Varsity Blues were rewarded a penalty corner on the play that followed but a speedy Gabby Jayme blocked the Toronto set-piece chance.
UBC were fortunate to capitalize after spending the better part of the half defending. A T-Birds penalty corner was taken by Jones but it was blocked and from a near no-angle Haughn buried the rebound on the back-hand to tie the game 1-1.
In the 32nd minute Toronto were able to get back in the lead when Tegan Stairs used her size and speed to attack the right side of the circle. She crossed the ball into Evanyshyn and the fifth year hit the ball towards goal but didn't quite connect on the ball. Fortunately Emma Stairs was there to one-time the ball past Harris for the 2-1 Toronto lead. That score remained at half time.
The second half was a game of patience as most of the play was in midfield. The seniors on the pitch were giving it their all as Amanda Woodcroft and Tegan Stairs were all over the pitch for Toronto and Haughn, Keglowitsch and Davis were doing all they could to desperately get their team level again.
With under five minutes to go Nicole Woodcroft drive the right side and found a UBC foot to give the Varsity Blues another penalty corner opportunity. Toronto were again unable to capitalize leaving their lead still at 2-1.
In the last minute of play the Thunderbirds were able to generate a penalty corner and they relied on third-year defender Jones to bury it. The West Vancouver, B.C. native notched her second of the tournament on a low sweep hit that beat Fredo to tie the game 2-2 and ultimately book the T-Birds a spot in the championship final on goal differential.
The Thunderbirds will now meet hosts Victoria, who will challenge for their 12th McCrae Cup, at 3:00 p.m. tomorrow, Nov. 8. Toronto and Guelph will n the next game will put that team through to the final, while another tie will bring it back to goal differential.
Official championship website:
http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/fh/indexSCORING SUMMARY (official stats: CLICK HERE)UBC: 1-1: 2
TOR: 2-0: 2
First halfTOR Alison Lee (2), 15th minute
UBC Hannah Haughn (2), 27th minute
TOR Emma Stairs (1), 32nd minute
Second halfUBC Sophie Jones (2), 70th minute
GoaltendersUBC: Rowan Harris (T, 70:00, 2 GA, 1-1-1)
TOR: Sara Fredo (T, 70:00, 2 GA, 1-1-1)
Players of the gameUBC: Hannah Haughn (West Vancouver, B.C.)
TOR: Alison Lee (Mississauga, Ont.)
PRE-CHAMPIONSHIP SEEDING 1. Victoria (Canada West champions: 7-0-1 regular season / no playoffs in CW)
2. Toronto (OUA champions: 11-1-0 regular season / 2-0 conference playoffs)
3. UBC (Canada West runners-up: 4-3-1 regular season / no playoffs in CW)
4. Guelph (OUA silver medallists: 11-1-0 regular season / 1-1 conference playoffs)
STANDINGS, SCHEDULE & RESULTS (all times Pacific Time) Round-robin standings
GP W L T GF GA PTS
1. Victoria 3 1 1 1 6 4 4
2. UBC 3 1 1 1 5 5 4
3. Toronto 3 1 1 1 5 7 4
4. Guelph 3 1 1 1 4 4 4
NOTE: 3 points for a win and 1 point for a tie.
Thursday, Nov. 516:00 Game 1: Guelph 2, UBC 1
18:30 Game 2: Victoria 4, Toronto 1
Friday, Nov. 616:00 Game 3: UBC 2, Victoria 1
18:30 Game 4: Toronto 2, Guelph 1
Saturday, Nov. 712:30 Game 5: Victoria 1, Guelph 1
15:00 Game 6: UBC 2, Toronto 2
Sunday, Nov. 812:30 Bronze Medal: Toronto vs. Guelph (
CIS-SIC.tv)
15:00 Championship final: Victoria vs. UBC (
CIS-SIC.tv)
About Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Every year, over 11,500 student-athletes and 700 coaches from 56 universities and four regional associations vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit
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For further information, please contact:
Ali LeeCommunications Officer
University of Victoria Vikes
Off: 250-721-8410
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vicvikes@uvic.ca Michel Bélanger Communications & Media Relations
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