The No. 9 nationally ranked University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's soccer team punched their ticket to the OUA gold medal match and U SPORTS women's soccer championship with a 1-0 victory over the No. 4 ranked Western Mustangs on Saturday (Oct. 25) afternoon at Varsity Stadium.

After today's result, U of T will play for OUA gold for the first time since 2019 and will host the No. 8 nationally ranked Guelph Gryphons in the gold medal match on Saturday, Nov. 1 at Varsity Stadium.

"An amazing performance today, it's always nice to score a goal early," said head coach Angelo Cavalluzzo. "You could see defensively the work that was put in. Everyone left it all on the pitch."

In an evenly matched first half between two U SPORTS powerhouses, U of T broke the deadlock in the 31^st minute when second-year midfielder Emilija Lucic capitalized on a rebound with a header into the back of the net. As the half progressed, U of T played a strong defensive game to fend off Western chances, taking a 1-0 lead into the locker room after 45 minutes.

In the second half, a veteran U of T defensive core, led by fifth-year's Hannah Chown and Bryanna Campbell put on a clinic as Western pushed for an equalizer. When Western was able to get shots on target, third-year goalkeeper Maria Godoy-Atrash was up to the task, earning her second clean sheet of the postseason.
The Blues continued to push the ball up the pitch and keep Western outside of the box as the half progressed. After 90 minutes of play, U of T was in celebration after punching their ticket to the championship game.

"It's been an incredible season. We earned top seed and we are going into every match with that mentality. We want to go in there feeling like a favourite and feeling really confident going into matches. That's what we've done so far through the playoffs." said Cavalluzzo.

U of T will host Guelph on Saturday (Nov. 1) afternoon at Varsity Stadium. Tickets are available at varsityblues.ca/tickets and the game will be streamed live on oua.tv.