VICTORIA (CIS) – The University of Toronto Varsity Blues field hockey team dropped a 4-2 decision to the Guelph Gryphons in the bronze-medal match on Sunday at CIS-FHC women's field hockey championship hosted at the University of Victoria.
The Varsity Blues put on an admirable performance and were guided by fifth years Tegan Stairs and Amanda Woodcroft. The supporting cast of Emma Woodgrave, Hilary Zirlado and Nicole Woodcroft were also solid throughout the match but the Varsity Blues just couldn't connect in their finishing. Nicole Woodcroft tied the game 1-1 in the opening half, while Lauren Sudac capitalized in the second half to again tie the game at two. Rookie keeper Sara Fredo had a strong performance despite allowing four goals and throughout the tournament showed great improvement to show promising signs for next season.
"We played as a team for sure, passing the ball, had a lot of chances and sometimes it's just luck and it didn't go our way today," said fifth-year midfielder Amanda Woodcroft after her last game as a Varsity Blue. "We knew what we had to. It was always the same game plan but unfortunately they came out just as hard and they wanted it just as much. It could have gone either way."
This was the third match up in two weeks for the OUA rivals and, despite the final score, it was an even affair right from the beginning.
The Gryphons scored twice in each half to secure third place and an exceptional finish for fifth-year standout Erin Houle and OUA Coach of the Year Michelle Turley. Olivia Lane and Laura Straus capitalized in the opening half, while Katherine MacMillan and Rebecca Plouffe scored their first championship goals in the second half. Keeper Morgan Kelley made five saves in the game.
Following the game Nicole Woodcroft and Chute were named Players of the Game.
Official championship website:
http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/fh/indexSCORING SUMMARY (official stats: CLICK HERE)GUE: 2-2: 4
TOR: 1-1: 2
First half
GUE Olivia Lane (1), 21st minute
TOR Nicole Woodcroft (2), 32nd minute
GUE Laura Straus (1), 34th minute
Second half
TOR Lauren Sudac (1), 49th minute
GUE Katherine MacMillan (1), 55th minute
GUE Rebecca Plouffe (1), 58th minute
Goaltenders
GUE: Morgan Kelley (W, 70:00, 2 GA, 2-1-1)
TOR: Sara Fredo (L, 70:00, 4 GA, 1-2-1)
Players of the game
GUE: Allison Chute (Greenfield Park, Q.C.)
TOR: Nicole Woodcroft (Waterloo, 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. Guelph 3 1 1 1 4 4 4
4. Toronto 3 1 1 1 5 7 4
NOTE: 3 points for a win and 1 point for a tie.
Thursday, Nov. 5
16:00 Game 1: Guelph 2, UBC 1
18:30 Game 2: Victoria 4, Toronto 1
Friday, Nov. 6
16:00 Game 3: UBC 2, Victoria 1
18:30 Game 4: Toronto 2, Guelph 1
Saturday, Nov. 7
12:30 Game 5: Victoria 1, Guelph 1
15:00 Game 6: UBC 2, Toronto 2
Sunday, Nov. 8
12:30 Bronze Medal: Guelph 4, Toronto 2
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 Lee
Communications Officer
University of Victoria Vikes
Off: 250-721-8410
Cell: 250-418-5633
vicvikes@uvic.ca Michel Bélanger
Communications & Media Relations
Canadian Interuniversity Sport
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Cell: (613) 447-6334
belanger@universitysport.ca
