GUELPH – The OUA post-season hasn't officially started. But that's not how the Guelph Gryphons women's soccer team approached their final weekend of the regular season schedule. The dialed-in Gryphons put their worst loss of the year behind them and finished the year with an important 4-2 win over the Windsor Lancers on Senior Day at the Gryphon Soccer Complex.

The hosts would need every bit of that focus after conceding a goal less than two minutes after the start. They would ultimately pass a big test before the elimination matches begin next week. Second-year midfielder Danielle Sauve scored twice, while third-year striker Hayley Howes and rookie striker Venessa Mazur had a goal each.

"We said for us the playoffs start today and we wanted to make sure that the spirit, the effort, the approach to the game was correct," said head coach Shayne Campbell. "And the girls had the right approach today." 

Guelph finishes the season in second place in the OUA West at 10-4-2, good enough for a first-round playoff bye.

After losing 5-2 to the first-place Western Mustangs at home on Saturday, the Gryphons got off to a horror start Sunday afternoon. Windsor's Giulia Barile produced a beautiful free kick that went in just inside the right post of Libby Brenneman's net in the second minute, putting the Lancers up immediately.
 

It was appropriate that on Senior Day, the Gryphons would show the poise required to move on from giving one up so early. Moments after Guelph missed a penalty, Howes equalized in the 13^th minute when she got loose down the right side, attacked the Lancers' net and unleashed a shot high past goalkeeper Kristina Brooks.

"We got behind early and that's a hard mountain to climb sometimes at the beginning of the game and all of a sudden it kind of shocks you," said Campbell. "The response is really important and that's what the playoffs are all about. When things don't go your way and you really hope it makes a turn. I thought they responded so well today and it was their playoff mentality."

Guelph grabbed control of the match when Sauve netted her first, a high finish after taking a great feed from Victoria Hinchliffe in the 51^st minute. Mazur's goal, the eventual match winner, came shortly after in the 58^th minute. The Mississauga, ON native was fed inside the area and she slotted a low, left-footed strike in to extend the lead to two.

Jazmin Martin scored for Windsor in the 70^th minute but the response from Guelph was immediate, as Sauve secured the three points with an amazing chip of the goalkeeper in the 72^nd minute.

Brenneman, one of Guelph's nine seniors, was busy. The Baden, ON native had to make eight saves on the afternoon.

The match was a good way to bounce back after the Gryphons were beaten 5-2 by Western the previous day. The Mustangs stormed out to a 2-0 lead by the half on goals from Julia Crnjac and Giulia Geraci. Crnjac added her second of the day minutes after the restart and though Kaylin Twardowski finally got one back for Guelph in the 63^rd minute, Geraci would net her second and Western's fourth just two minutes later.
 
With the Mustangs up 5-1, Jacqueline Goulart scored in the 88^th minute.
 
The five goals were the most conceded by the Gryphons this year and an anomaly given the side's sound defensive structure. It was also a lesson with the playoffs on the horizon. And the response on Sunday was telling.

Campbell mentioned how his seniors – Brenneman, Goulart, AC Lang, Sara Van Den Akker, Andrea Cimino, Sydney Holden, Allison Clouse, Nicole Brown-Shaw, Stephanie Moore, and former player and current trainer Elise Dedecker –  have been leaders on and off the pitch, with a commitment to both the community and their academics. When Guelph hosts a playoff game next weekend, Campbell expects his players to be up for it.
 
"We're ready for this moment," he said. "We've been working hard for three months and we want to keep this thing going."