GUELPH, Ont. - The Guelph Gryphons men's soccer team is officially bound for the playoffs after capturing a 3-0 victory of the Algoma Thunderbirds on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 21) in Guelph. The team received scores from three different student-athletes in the season finale of the 12-game regular season schedule to close out 2023 with an 8-4-1 record (wins-losses-draws). It was a tightly-contested match until third-year midfielder Gray Yates opened up the scoring in the 77th minute with his second goal of the campaign. Shortly after Osayuki Ibie doubled the Gryphon lead in the 85th minute which was quickly followed by a third goal from Vahan Sargsyan, his first career OUA goal. The Gryphons will now await the results of the final games from across the OUA tomorrow to determine if they had captured a bye past the opening round of the postseason. The Brock Badgers (7-2-2) sit in 1st-place in the OUA West Division with 23 points while the Gryphons trail with 22. Two matches will determine the Gryphons playoff seeding with both taking place tomorrow afternoon. The Badgers will take on the 3rd-place York Lions who possess 21 points while the 4th-place McMaster Marauders take on the 5th-place Western Mustangs who hold 19 and 18 points in the standings. With plenty of scenarios still on the table, several tiebreakers will surely come into effect to determine the final seeding. 

The 2023 OUA men's soccer playoffs will begin on Wednesday, October 25 with the preliminary round, followed by the OUA quarterfinals on Saturday, October 28.