OSHAWA, Ont. – For the first time in 18 years, the University of Guelph will be represented at a national championship for women's soccer. On Saturday afternoon in Oshawa, the Gryphons took down the defending OUA champion UOIT Ridgebacks in a dramatic conference semi-final matchup that required penalty kicks to determine a winner. The Gryphons, who twice came back to tie the game during a wild 2nd half, would go on to win 3-2 in penalty kicks to book a spot in Sunday's OUA Gold medal game. Second year striker
Victoria Hinchliffe accounted for both of Guelph's goals during regulation, and also provided the exclamation point on her memorable day by converting from the penalty spot in the 5th round of the shootout to seal the victory for her side. The Gryphons now sit one win away from capturing the school's first ever OUA title in women's soccer. The Gryphons will face the Western Mustangs in Sunday's OUA final, with kickoff set for 4pm in Oshawa. Both the Gryphons and Mustangs will be heading to Winnipeg next week to take part in the 2017 U SPORTS Women's Soccer Championship, hosted by the University of Manitoba (November 9-12).
"Today's performance reaffirmed what we've felt about this group all season long," said Gryphons head coach
Shayne Campbell. "The players on this roster have such a tremendous amount of character and have shown the ability to bounce back from setbacks throughout the year. To be able to come back like that after being down twice against such a strong opponent like UOIT, it's just a credit to the girls on this team and their belief in themselves."
That belief would be put to the test in the 2nd half, when the defending OUA champion Ridgebacks took control of the match with a goal in the 73rd minute from Katherine Koehler-Grassau, who showed great composure to give the home side a 1-0 lead. That UOIT lead, however, would be short-lived as Gryphons' sophomore sensation Victoria Hinchliffe would equalize in the 76th minute when she was able to get behind the UOIT defenders and slide the tying goal past a charging Ridgebacks keeper.
The match, which was scoreless for the first 70-plus minutes, was suddenly pouring in goals, when UOIT took a 2-1 lead in the 80th minute on a header from Taijah Henderson. Again, the Gryphons would be quick to respond, and again, it would be Hinchliffe stepping up. This time, the Guelph native would connect on a powerful half-volley that soared just under the crossbar to tie the match at 2-2. Hinchliffe's second goal of the game came just :31 seconds after UOIT had taken the lead.
"Victoria was so determined today and had such a will to win, it just rubbed off on everyone else on our team," added Campbell. "She showed absolutely no quit today and was all over the field, heading away corners, sprinting back to help defensively. Her performance inspired our entire team."
Hinchliffe's second goal capped a wild 17-minute span that saw the two teams combine for four goals. After that, however, the Gryphons and Ridgebacks would again start to lock down defensively. After 30 minutes of extra time solved nothing, the two teams would head to penalties to determine a winner. The early advantage in the shootout went to UOIT. After the first two rounds of shooters were complete, the Ridgebacks found themselves ahead 2-1 thanks to a diving save by UOIT keeper Victoria Savage on Guelph's second shooter. While UOIT's keeper was impressive during the shootout, making a pair of fine saves, Guelph's keeper was the difference.
Libby Brenneman, a two-time OUA All-Star, would spark the Gryphons' championship hopes by coming up with three consecutive saves to put the Gryphons back in control of the shootout. Brenneman, who also led the Gryphons to a shootout victory over Laurier in the OUA playoffs a year ago, would once again come through with some postseason heroics, showing off great athleticism and anticipation while denying Ridgeback shooters in three straight attempts from the spot.
Brenneman's save in the 5th round meant the Gryphons could seal the win with a converted penalty from their 5th shooter. With the game on her foot, Victoria Hinchliffe would come through yet again, sending a perfectly placed shot into the bottom left corner of the net to complete the Gryphon comeback.
"This moment is so surreal, I can't believe we did that," said Hinchliffe. "We haven't made it to this point in 18 years. We've never been to an OUA final. It's just incredible to be here with the team we have and I am so happy."
The Gryphons will now turn their attention to the Western Mustangs for Sunday's championship match. The two teams split their two head-to-head meetings during the regular season.
"We're hoping to bring the same game we brought today and just keep playing our game," said Hinchliffe on Sunday's match. "We've been training for this moment all season and we're ready."
The Gryphons-Mustangs OUA gold medal game kicks off at 4pm and will be streamed live online at www.oua.tv.
