GUELPH, Ont. - On Sunday (Sept. 17) afternoon at the Gryphon Soccer Complex the U of G women's soccer team overcame a late first-half weather delay to pick up their second win of the 2023 OUA soccer season, improving to 2-1-1. It was a match where the Gryphons were able to maintain early success leading to their second consecutive 2-0 victory over the Waterloo Warriors. 

The first half saw the Gryphons having an aggressive start and pushing the pace inside the oppositions half of the pitch. In the 11^th minute Anna Bernardi opened the scoring, giving Guelph an early 1-0 lead.  The remainder of the first half was a back-and-forth affair which saw good chemistry between the U of G midfiel and attack, but a strong Warrior defence kept the home team from extending their lead. With just minutes left in the half, the two teams would be forced to leave the pitch due to a lightning delay, threatening any momentum the Gryphons had built. After 30 minutes the two teams played out the final few ticks of the clock and headed to halftime with just one score separating the two. The second half opened with a strong attempt from third-year human kinetics major, Lauren Bruce, who beat everybody but the crossbar with a shot from outside the box. The Gryphons continued their attack, forcing the Warriors to play near-perfect defence to stay within one. In the 60^th minute rookie Olivia Stavropoulos sent a shot from 20 yards out to score her first career OUA goal and give the U of G women's squad a two-goal lead. The remainder of the game saw an impressive performance from the Gryphons defensively, denying any chance of the visiting team getting on the scoreboard. The final whistle sounded with the Gryphons 2-0 lead and second win intact, confirming their second win over the Warriors in just three days. 

The Gryphons will return to the OUA pitch next Saturday (Sept. 23) when they make the trip to St. Catharines to face off with the Brock Badgers. The team's fifth match of the 2023 campaign will kick off at 1pm at Brock Alumni Field.