The University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's lacrosse team is headed to Oshawa for the 2019 OUA championship this weekend (Oct 18-20) as they look to improve on last year's fourth-place finish.

"We are excited to see all the players step into their roles and we are looking forward to bringing everything together. We aim to play with, and challenge the top teams in every game this weekend," said Varsity Blues head coach Jesse Porter.
 
The Blues finished the season in fourth place in the East division with a 4-8-1 record. They will kick off the tournament against the Brock Badgers, who finished fifth in the West, on Friday (Oct 18) at 11:00am. The winner of this match up will take on the Western Mustangs, who finished first in the West, in quarter-final action on Friday evening at 6:00pm.
 
Toronto played Brock once this season and came out on top with a 13-7 victory. The Blues have scored a total of 125 goals, compared to the Badgers, who scored 84 this regular season.
 
The team will look upon their leading goal scorers to find success heading into the championship. Rookie Rhiannon Panting had a breakout season, leading the team with 25 goals, followed by third-year attack Heather McDougall continuing her success from last year with 20 goals this season.

The Blues will also be relying on stellar defensive play from their rookie defenders Leah Hickey and Ally Payler. They have scored two and eight goals, respectively, from the backline and have been a crucial part of the Blues success this season. Third-year goalie Sierra Watkins has also had a strong season for the Varsity Blues and will be trusted to hold down the back field.

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