WATERLOO, Ont. - An early goal from York's Jaslan Stirling would prove to be enough to give the York Lions a tight, 1-0 win over the Guelph Gryphons on Sunday afternoon at Warrior Field in the gold medal match of the 2018 OUA Field Hockey Championships. With the win, the Lions secure their second consecutive OUA title, while the Gryphons see their 2018 campaign officially come to an end as OUA silver medalists.

Both teams had their chances to add to the score throughout the game but couldn't capitalize. The Gryphons kept the pressure on the Lions throughout the second half and were all over the York net in the final minutes. The last five minutes of the game were spent almost wholly in the Lions end, as Guelph had several consecutive penalty corners and chances to score but the Lions defence held strong and thwarted their attempts to even up the game. York goalie Alycia Gray was impressive throughout the game and picked up the shutout for the now back-to-back champions.

"Despite York jumping out to an early lead, we stayed strong and never gave up," said Gryphons head coach Michelle Turley. "We outplayed York and constantly pressured them in the second half but just couldn't catch a break or a bounce. We had them pinned in their end for the final five minutes with four consecutive penalty corners. We actually put the ball over the line to tie the game but the whistle was blown early for another penalty corner instead of playing the advantage. We left if all out there on the field. I'm very proud of the way we performed throughout the entire championship weekend."

The York Lions will now host the U SPORTS Championships, which will consist of a best-of-three series between the York Lions and the University of Victoria Vikes next weekend (Nov. 1-4).
 

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