The Guelph Gryphon Women's soccer team fell to the Laurier Golden Hawks after a bitter 3-2 defeat today (Sept. 2) at the Gryphons Soccer Complex.
 
The loss drops the Gryphons to 1-1 and propels the Golden Hawks to 2-0 in the OUA West standings.
 
The Gryphons came out with the confidence to build on their previous victory over the Waterloo Warriors (Sept. 1) by creating many chances in the Laurier end early in the half.  Yet with Laurier's Emily Brown (Waterloo, ON) scoring first in the 21^st minute, it seemed the defending OUA Silver Medalists were not to be taken lightly.  Following the goal, Laurier managed to get two free kicks deep in the Guelph half that were thankfully upset by the Gryphons defensive core.
 
Despite the heat, the Gryphons were able to match the Golden Hawks' aggressive play to round out the half with a beautiful goal by Guelph's Erica Bain(Niagara Falls, ON) in the 45^th minute.  The play was largely thanks to spectacular efforts from Courtney Whiteside (Guelph, ON) and Breanna Hall (Ottawa) to confuse the Laurier defence.
 
Several changes at half allowed the Gryphons to carry on their dominant pressure throughout the early stages of the second half.  Great awareness by Gryphon Captain, Alexandra Harriss (Dundas, ON) allowed Guelph to keep the ball in Laurier territory.  After several attempts, a great touch by Hall in the 66^th minute allowed for Kaitlin Mulholland (Burlington, ON) to set up a juicy rebound for Harriss to put Guelph up 2-1.
 
But it was following a questionable penalty deep in the Guelph half that Laurier was able to score on a penalty kick in the 76^th minute.  Katie Bishop (Surrey, BC) of the Golden Hawks was awarded the tying goal.
 
The final stages of the game saw excellent play by both squads on both offensive and defensive fronts.  Yet despite the great defensive play by the Gryphons, Laurier's Brown was able to sneak through the Guelph defence in the 89^th minute to seal a 3-2 Golden Hawk victory.  Regardless of the outcome, Guelph's keeper Megan Klimas (Russel, ON) played an outstanding game, stopping eight of eleven Laurier opportunities.
 
The Gryphon Women's team looks to rebound against the UOIT Ridgebacks on Friday, September 7.  The game is scheduled to take place at the Gryphons Soccer Complex at 8:15 p.m.