On November 1, U of T hosted both the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Women’s and Men’s Soccer Championship finals at Varsity Stadium. As the top seeds of the Eastern conference, the Varsity Blues Women’s Soccer team welcomed the Guelph Gryphons, who also finished top seed in the Western conference.
The Men’s Soccer final saw a similar set of circumstances. As first seeds in the OUA Eastern Conference, the Men’s team came into the match with a seven-game winning streak. Their opponents, the York Lions, also finished first in the Western Conference.
In this rare double-header OUA finals event hosted at U of T, both Blues teams made the affair all the more extraordinary by winning two gold medals. The Women’s Soccer team made program history by securing their first-ever OUA provincial championship title. For the Men’s Soccer team, this victory marks their first OUA title since 2010 and 51st in program history.
The Women’s OUA Soccer final
The first 45 minutes of play saw neither team make their mark on the scoreboard. While the Blues generated many scoring chances, Guelph Gryphon’s goalie Sabrina Spano and centreback Katie Kimens made a formidable defensive duo. Standing at six feet tall, Kimens neutralized multiple scoring opportunities by leveraging her height to header corner kicks and high lobs away.
The second half saw both teams level up their pace. During the 70th minute, the Blues’ tenacity paid off. The championship-winning play started with a corner kick from second-year Emilija Lucic. As the ball soared into the goalkeeper’s box, fifth-year captain Hannah Chown threaded the needle by cutting in front of Kimens to head the ball for the match-deciding goal.
For the last 20 minutes of the match, the Blues remained aggressive on both offence and defence. Although Spano restricted the Blues from scoring again, the Gryphons’ offensive unit was unable to score against Blues goalie Maria Godoy-Atrash. Having kept a clean sheet for the past two playoff matches, Atrash once again remained undefeated in the 90th minute by making two more critical saves to stave off the Gryphon comeback, and the final score remained 1–0.
The Men’s OUA Soccer final
The Men’s final match versus the York Lions was a long and dramatic one. After a scoreless 90-minute match, the Lions looked poised to eventually crack second-year Blues goalie Filip Zendelek’s defence in overtime. The Lions had predominantly kept the Blues occupied at their defensive line for much of the overtime half.
However, at the 100th minute, a critical red card given to the Lions’ forward, Anthony Morano, proved to be a watershed moment. Once one of the Lions’ key attackers was ejected from the match, the tides turned quickly, and in the 107th minute, fifth-year Kingsley Belele broke through and scored the first goal in overtime. The Blues were not finished there, as third-year Mehdi Essoussi followed up at the 112th minute with another goal to make the score 2–0. With only eight minutes remaining, the York Lions were not able to overcome the deficit, as Blues’ goalie Zendelek remained undefeated and closed out the game with a clean sheet.
What’s next?
With their monumental wins, both the Men’s and Women’s soccer teams now turn their attention towards competing in the U SPORTS National Championships. The Men’s team will stay on home turf as the University of Toronto will host the national championship from November 6–9. The U SPORTS Women’s national championship will be hosted by McMaster University in Hamilton during the same days.
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