HAMILTON, Ont. - On Saturday (Oct. 28) afternoon in Hamilton at Ron Joyce Stadium, the Guelph Gryphons women's soccer team's 2023 season came to end at the hands of the McMaster Marauders. It was a hard-fought loss for the Gryphons, who opened the scoring early in the first half with a goal from
Olivia Rizakos, only to see the host Marauders answer back with a pair of unanswered goals to earn a 2-1 victory. With the win, the McMaster Marauders advance to the OUA semifinal round which will see them travel to Ottawa on November 1 to face the Ottawa Gee-Gees.
As the No. 3-seed in the OUA West Division, the Gryphons traveled down highway 6 to take on the No. 2-seeded Marauders in the OUA quarterfinals. It was the Gryphons who came out of the gate with a strong start, taking the lead just 19 minutes in. It was
Olivia Brown showing some great touch and skill to set up her Gryphon teammate,
Olivia Rizakos, who scored her third goal of this postseason. 15 minutes later, a Gryphon foul in the box led to a McMaster penalty, which was converted to level the match at 1-1. With both teams looking for the go-ahead goal Emilie Calabrese of the Marauders found her second of the day with less than five minutes remaining in regulation to lead McMaster to the victory.
The playoff loss caps off another impressive season for the Gryphons who finished the regular season with an 8-2-2 record, to go along with a postseason win over Brock in the opening round. While the Marauders prepare to face the Gee-Gees in one of the OUA semifinals, the other conference semifinal will see the Queen's Gaels travel to London to face the Western Mustangs (also on November 1).
