TORONTO, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons are already showing the kind of grit it takes to rack up points in the OUA West. Guelph went down a goal to the host York Lions but salvaged a point thanks to
Victoria Hinchliffe in a hard-fought 1-1 draw on the road at Alumni Field.
Hinchliffe, a third-year Guelph native, took a ball in the area with space to spare and then calmly slotted home a right-footed strike past York goalkeeper Tamara Orlando in the 78
th minute. The Gryphons' playoff hero in their 2017 run to an OUA banner came close to a late winner when she was sprung loose down the right side in injury time but the charging Orlando did well to save the striker's hard shot.
Despite a dominant first half by Guelph, it was the host Lions who would take a lead in the 70
th minute. A deluge of rain and a heavy wind directly in the faces of the Guelph players gave York an advantage in the early stages of the second half, making it difficult on second-year goalkeeper
Brooke Davidson. She had repeated trouble clearing the ball and the Lions pounced, with Kalifornia Mitchell gathering a miscue and floating a shot over the helpless keeper from about 25 yards out.
It was the first goal York had scored against the Gryphons since a match on Oct. 4, 2015, a 2-0 Lions win in Guelph, and the first allowed by the reigning OUA champions in three matches this season.
Guelph were by far the better team in the first half, registering nine shots (six on target) and five corners, four coming in the final two minutes of the opening 45. But they're failure to convert proved costly, especially on a great attempt from second-year midfielder
Sayan Ladhani, who unleashed a shot after a York turnover though her attempt was saved at the left post by a diving Orlando.
Turning point
Davidson had a tough time in goal in the second half with the horrid, wet and windy conditions but after she conceded York's opener, the young goalkeeper came up huge. She made two outstanding saves on consecutive efforts from Sia Papadopoulos and Farkhunda Mutaj that preserved the 1-0 scoreline. That enabled Guelph to stay within in striking distance and the reliable Hinchliffe rescued a point for the defending OUA champions with a timely strike.
Gryphon Take
"In the first half, we really dominated possession of the ball and it provided us a couple of very good opportunities. We just did not take those chances that we created. We did a lot of very good things in the first half. It was just a matter of capitalizing. The good news is that we're creating the chances.
"We started the second half and the weather turned a bit. We were back on our heels defending in the first 20 minutes, pinned in our end. Their player made a nice move and struck a quick shot that got over Brooke, who played an excellent game today.
"We were deserved of scoring that goal. Anytime you come back from being down, it's important. It's good we were able to get something out of the game. It's not an easy place to play, it's a tricky fixture. That's a good York side. Credit to the girls to come back. I felt in the last 15 minutes, we were going to get a second." –
head coach Shayne Campbell
The Record
Guelph is 1-0-2.
Next up
Laurier, Sunday, Sept. 2, 1 pm @ the Gryphon Soccer Complex
