In their 2026 home finale, the No. 6 nationally ranked University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's soccer team defeated the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks 2-1 on Saturday (Oct. 10) afternoon at Varsity Stadium.
Third-year midfielder Emilija Lucic scored the game-winning goal, scoring from the spot after a tackle in the box on fellow third-year midfielder Kimee Liu sent the Blues No. 19 to the spot.
Following a pregame ceremony to honour the eight graduating Blues, U of T wasted no time to change the scoreboard with Liu's strike from 31 yards away from the goal opened the score. Toronto was dominant in the first half, holding a 4-1 advantage on shots on goal and forced the Ridgebacks to continuously kick the ball out of bounds as Toronto garnered a 2-0 advantage on corner kicks. In the 22
nd minute Ontario Tech had their best chance of the half, but Emma Dang shot the free kick wide of the net. Shortly afterwards, U of T regained momentum, nearly doubling their lead but a key strop from goalkeeper Londyn Thornton kept 1-0 lead stagnant through 45 minutes of play.
Knocking on the door to extend their lead, U of T was just short on finding a second goal as Lucic connected with third-year forward Beatrice Audain but a diving header by Karlia Jean-Baptiste saved a quality chance. At the other end of the pitch, Mackenzie Scott took advantage on the counterattack to score an equalizer for the Ridgebacks.
Toronto began to press against the Ridgebacks as fourth-year midfielder Julia Cochrane was a magician in the midfield, breaking up passes to assist the defenders and making outlet passes to Toronto's attack. As the two teams traded chances as the half progressed, defenders Natasha Budisa and Paulina Cremonese were strong in fending off the attack as both sides were desperate to break the deadlock.
Toronto would get the goal they were looking for in the 85
th minute when Liu stormed into the box and was fouled by Thornton. With Lucic getting the call to take the penalty, she beat Thornton to her left for the game-winning goal.
From there, the Blues played a stout defensive game to shut down Ontario Tech as fourth-year goalkeeper Maria Godoy-Atrash made one final stop before a Jessie Rickards clearance queued the final whistle.
With an 8-2-1 (W-L-T) record, the second-place in the OUA East Blues have a marquee matchup with the first-place Ottawa Gee-Gees in the final match day of the regular season. Kick-off in the nation's capital is scheduled for 1 p.m., with a live stream available on
oua.tv.
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