Varsity Blues teams excelled at provincial and national tournaments over the past week, which this past weekend’s player awards reflect. On November 3, goalkeeper, Rab Bruce-Lockhart and field hockey midfielder Amanda Woodcroft were recognized as the male and female athletes of the week.
Bruce-Lockhart, the standout goalkeeper for the Varsity Blues soccer team, was awarded the male distinction following his team’s third place finish at the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championship. The Varsity Blues topped the Ryerson University Rams in the OUA Bronze medal match on November 2.
Bruce-Lockhart’s performance was vital for the Varsity Blues, as he stopped three penalty kicks to propel the Blues to a 2-1 victory over the Rams after regulation time left the game tied at 1. These decisive saves were added to the six saves that Bruce-Lockhart made against the Rams before time ended.
Bruce-Lockhart says that the team’s success was inspired by the Varsity Blues’ graduating players. “We did well against Ryerson as we had a lot of motivation to make sure we finished the season properly, there are a lot of graduating players who have given everything to the team and we wanted to make sure they went out on a good note, giving us some extra motivation,” said Bruce-Lockhart.
Bruce-Lockhart was awarded player of the game for his numerous diving saves, topping off a season during which opposing teams scored a meagre 0.76 goals a game against him. Bruce-Lockhart’s exceptional goalkeeping resulted in the Varsity Blues allowing the second fewest goals against during the OUA regular season.
The female player of the week was Amanda Woodcroft, a midfielder on the field hockey team that captured the silver medal at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) championships, hosted by U of T on the Back Campus field. The CIS gold medal match ended the Varsity Blues’ extraordinary undefeated season. The team won 17 straight matches before falling to the University of British Columbia in the CIS final.
Despite her team’s loss in the championship game, Woodcroft secured the tournament MVP award as a result of her impressive defensive play throughout the tournament. In addition to playing a leading role in defence that stifled opposing offences during the round robin play, Woodcroft contributed a goal against UBC in their first matchup.
Woodcroft says that defence was a top priority all season. “We have worked extremely hard all season to make sure our defence was a strength in our game,” said Woodcroft.
Woodcroft’s excellent play at the CIS championship was a continuation of her solid play to end the season. She scored a goal in six of the final seven games of regular season conference play while playing the demanding midfielder position.
Although the season ended with a loss, Woodcroft views it as a success. “Obviously losing that game is a disappointment but we have to look at the overall picture. We had an amazing season, 17-1, and we brought the OUA banner back home,” said Woodcroft.
This year was the University of Toronto’s fourth OUA gold medal in five years.
