WATERLOO – The Guelph Gryphons women's soccer team appears to be over a recent goal-scoring drought that easily could have led to frustration. But the Gryphon players have had belief all season and they leaned on a couple local products to help find the back of the net Wednesday night in Waterloo. Guelph natives Sydney Johnson and Victoria Hinchliffe each scored to lift the Gryphons to an important 2-0 away win over the Warriors.

It was a complete effort on the road, and a galvanizing result for a side enjoying a strong season. The Gryphons (9-3-2) have now scored five goals in their last two matches, both wins. They had earned just one point from three previous games with zero goals scored prior to the consecutive victories.

"Waterloo doesn't make things easy," said Guelph head coach Shayne Campbell. "We knew we had to work hard and match their intensity. We were committed from the get go and competed hard.

"Our players knew how much this game meant."

Campbell said that the three-game goal-scoring drought didn't negatively impact the team. The attitude never changed and it showed in a 3-0 win over McMaster last week. They have been "all in."

Guelph maintained that momentum against Waterloo. The Gryphons took control of the match midway through the first half. Johnson, a rookie who went to John F. Ross Collegiate Vocational Institute, got the visitors on the scoreboard when she was sprung for a breakaway about 30 yards from the net. Rookie midfielder Sayan Ladhani did well to win a battle in the middle of the pitch and sent a through ball to Johnson, who raced in and finished across the keeper into the left side of the net for her third goal of the season. Hinchliffe would add another just minutes later to extend the Gryphon lead. Ladhani again did the work to get a ball to the byline and Hinchliffe saved it from going out for a goal kick. She then surprised Waterloo with a strike from an incredibly tight angle that put the match away.

Hinchliffe is a highly-decorated local player. She won an OFSAA AA soccer gold medal with the Bishop Macdonell Celtics in 2014 and showed her nose for the net as a 16-year-old among older players in the Ontario Women's Soccer League before arriving at the University of Guelph. Hinchliffe got off to a slow start in her second season after scoring nine times en route to taking OUA Rookie of the Year honours in 2016.

But the talented striker has been coming alive in recent weeks and much like the team, refused to get frustrated when the ball didn't find the net. She finally opened her account on Sept. 20 in a 2-0 win over York and then added another in Guelph's victory over McMaster last week, giving her three goals in the past six matches. That ties Hinchliffe with Johnson for the team lead.

"We've never stopped believing in her and she's found new life," said Campbell, who also coached Hinchliffe when she led the Western Ontario Youth Soccer League in goals as a member of the U-17 Guelph Royals. "The work she did off the ball tonight was incredible. She has gotten herself back into form."

Guelph goalkeeper Libby Brenneman kept another clean sheet. Brenneman wasn't too busy overall but her and the stout back line had a lot of work to do in the second half as Waterloo played directly down the middle of the pitch in trying to find a goal.

"The back four were just stellar," Campbell said of their gritty defensive work snuffing out Waterloo attacks.

Guelph's regular season schedule comes to an end after hosting back-to-back matches against Western and Windsor on Saturday and Sunday at the Gryphon Soccer Complex. Each game begins at 1 pm.