GUELPH, Ont. – A busy week in October sees nine Gryphon varsity teams in postseason action with it all kicking off on Wednesday (Oct. 23) with quarterfinal matches for the men's and women's soccer teams. Also highlighting the playoff action this week is the Gryphons women's rugby team and their pursuit for their 18th OUA banner (Friday night in Kingston), and the men's cross country team looking to defend their title and repeat as conference champions (Saturday in North Bay). The Gryphon football team will also host an OUA football playoff game on U of G campus for the first time since 2019, as they welcome in the Ottawa Gee-Gees for an OUA quarterfinal on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 26). See below for more information on all of the Gryphon teams in postseason action this week.
MEN'S SOCCER
OUA Quarterfinal
Wednesday, October 23, 2024 - 7pm
York Alumni Field | Toronto, ON
Guelph Gryphons (No. 5-seed) at York Lions (No. 1-seed)
OUA Semifinal (if Gryphons win at York)
Saturday, October 26, 2024
At winner of Carleton / TMU | Ottawa, ON or Toronto, ON
Guelph Gryphons (No. 5-seed OUA West) at Carleton Ravens (No. 3-seed OUA East) or TMU Bold (No. 2-seed OUA East)
Coming off a dramatic penalty shootout win over the Laurier Golden Hawks in the opening round of OUA men's soccer playoffs, the Gryphons men's soccer team continues their playoff journey in Toronto as they face the top seeded team in the OUA West in the York Lions. Guelph entered the playoffs as the No. 5-seed in the OUA West as they faced off with the No. 4-seeded Golden Hawks in Waterloo on Saturday (Oct. 19) in a preliminary round match that needed PKs after 120 scoreless minutes. Gryphons third-year midfielder,
Vahan Sargsyan, ultimately scored the decisive spot kick, sending the Gryphons to Toronto for a Wednesday night matchup with the No. 6-ranked team in the country in the York Lions. The Gryphons and Lions met twice this season with the Lions taking the first meeting 3-0 in Guelph on Sept. 13 before the Gryphons earned a point in a scoreless 0-0 draw in Toronto on Sept. 16. The winner of Wednesday night's match will face the winner of the Carleton / TMU quarterfinal match, with either the Gryphons traveling for their OUA semifinal match, or the Lions hosting a conference semifinal.
WOMEN'S SOCCER
OUA Quarterfinal
Wednesday, October 23, 2024 – 6pm
Gryphon Soccer Complex | Guelph, ON
Guelph Gryphons (No. 2-seed) vs McMaster Marauders (No. 3-seed)
OUA Semifinal (if Guelph wins vs McMaster)
Saturday, October 26, 2024
Winner of Toronto / Ottawa | Ottawa, ON or Guelph, ON
Guelph Gryphons (No. 2-seed OUA West) vs Toronto Varsity Blues (No. 5-seed OUA East) or Ottawa Gee-Gees (No. 1-seed OUA East)
After finishing the regular season with an 8-3-1 (win-loss-tie) record and earning an opening round bye, the Gryphons women's soccer team will begin their playoffs on Wednesday night (Oct. 23) with a home quarterfinal match with the OUA West No. 3-seeded McMaster Marauders. The Marauders needed a goal in extra time to defeat the Golden Hawks to advance to Wednesday's quarterfinals. Guelph is led by striker
Olivia Brown who leads the team and is 3rd in the OUA with 10 goals scored on the season. The Gryphons and Marauders met twice on the year with McMaster winning 2-1 in Hamilton on Oct. 4 and the Gryphons earning a 2-2 draw at home on Oct. 6. Guelph will look to avenge last season's loss the McMaster in the quarterfinal stage in Hamilton as they will host the Marauders at the Gryphon Soccer Complex on Wednesday. The winner of the Wednesday night's match will play the winner of Toronto/Ottawa in a semifinal match on Saturday (Oct. 26).
ROWING
OUA Rowing Championships
Friday, October 25 - Saturday, October 26, 2024
Henley Rowing Course | St. Catharines, ON
The Gryphons men's and women's rowing team are in St. Catharines for the 2024 OUA Rowing Championships this weekend. 35 athletes are set to represent the Gryphons with action beginning on Friday with the JV and novice races followed by the varsity heats, and wrapping up on Saturday with the varsity finals. The rowing team reached the podium last year in the men's lightweight 4+, winning a bronze medal. "This group of athletes has been working hard to build a common crew rhythm, and find new speed across the team as a whole," says Gryphons rowing head coach,
Pearl Schachter, as her team looks to build off their 6th-place (men) and 8th-place (women) finish from a year ago. "We're excited to see which crews will be able to take advantage of this on race day!"
Regatta Central
Updates on X via @ROWONTARIO
WOMEN'S LACROSSE
OUA Women's Lacrosse Championship Tournament
Friday October 25 - Sunday, October 27, 2024
Kiwanis Field | St. Catharines, ON
The Gryphons women's lacrosse team will travel to St. Catharines to close out their 2024 season as they compete in the nine-team OUA Women's Lacrosse Championship Tournament. The Gryphons will play out of 'Pool A' alongside the Western Mustangs and Ontario Tech Ridgebacks with the team kicking off the tournament with their opening match on Friday (Oct. 25) at 11:15am against the Mustangs. The Gryphons finished the regular season with a 2-6 record with wins over Toronto and McMaster. Guelph will look to improve on their 6th-place finish at last season's tournament.
| Pool A |
Pool B |
Pool C |
| Western |
Queen's |
Trent |
| Guelph |
Laurier |
Toronto |
| Ontario Tech |
McMaster |
Brock |
Friday, October 25
11:15am: Western vs Guelph
1pm: Queen's vs Laurier
2:45pm: Trent vs Toronto
4:30pm: Guelph vs Ontario Tech
6:15pm: Laurier vs McMaster
8:00pm: Toronto vs Brock
Saturday, October 26
9:30am: Western vs Ontario Tech
11:15am: Queen's vs McMaster
1pm: Trent vs Brock
- Following the results of the 2 games, the 3 group winners (1-3) and the next best team (4th) (using the tie breaker procedure, if necessary) will be re-seeded 1-4 and will proceed to the semifinals on Saturday.
- The 5th and 6th place teams will also play on Saturday, with the bronze and gold medal games being played on Sunday.
Saturday, October 26
2:45pm: Semifinal #1 (1 vs 4)*
4:30pm: Semifinal #2 (2 vs 3)*
6:15pm: Fifth-Place Game (5 vs 6)*
*Through approval of OUA, the order of playoff games on Saturday evening could potentially be altered to provide rest/recovery to team that played in the last round of games
Sunday, October 27
10am: Bronze Medal Game
12pm: Gold Medal Game
WOMEN'S RUGBY
OUA Women's Rugby Championship Final
Friday, October 25, 2027 - 7pm
Nixon Field | Kingston, ON
Guelph Gryphons (No. 2-seed) vs Queen's Gaels (No. 1-seed)
The Guelph Gryphons and Queen's Gaels will meet for the 7th consecutive season in the final game of the OUA women's rugby season. The Gryphons women's rugby team will look to capture their 18th conference title but they will need to snap a two-game losing streak to the Gaels in the OUA Championship game and a six-game losing streak to Queen's as a whole to do so, with the last Guelph win coming on November 6, 2022 in a 32-23 win in the OUA Championship. This marks the fifth straight OUA Championship game between these two powerhouses that has taken place
in Kingston, as the Gaels earned the opportunity to host this game after they made a second half comeback to defeat the Gryphons 31-24 back on September 21 in Guelph. Both teams got here with convincing wins in the semifinals and both have once again qualified for the U SPORTS Women's Rugby Championship tournament (Oct. 30-Nov. 3, Charlottetown, PEI). Friday night's OUA championship game from Nixon Field in Kingston can be seen live online at
www.oua.tv.
CROSS COUNTRY
OUA Cross Country Championships
Saturday, October 26, 2024
Osprey Links Golf Course | North Bay, ON
Women's 8km Race - 11am | Men's 8km Race - 12pm
The Gryphons men's cross country team will look to defend their 2023 conference title and win their 24th banner while the women's team will aim to get back to the top of the podium after their 2nd-place finish last year. The men's team will be led by
Jack Lehto and
Max Davies who both will look to cap off impressive seasons. Lehto, the third year mechanical engineering runner, has placed in the top 3 in his events this season including a 1st-place finish at the Don Mills Open while Davies, the reigning OUA Athlete of the Year has equally been as good, placing in the top 4 in his races which includes a 1st-place finish at the Vigars and Salters Western Invitational. Alongside Lehto and Davies is
Christian Rachner who has had a strong season. The fourth-year Brampton native has had two top 10 finishes this season as he looks repeat the feat in North Bay after his 10th-place finish at last year's OUA Championships.
Adam Schmidt returns from last year's team after he placed in 16th at last season's championship.
Charlie Mills and
Dylan Ferri both will enter the OUA Championship for the first time with a top 10 finish to their names this season. First-year runner from Stratford,
Luke Feltham, will also make his debut in the OUA Cross Country Championship.
On the women's side, the Gryphons are led by veteran runner
Laura Yantha. Yantha, who is pursuing her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Guelph, has had an outstanding season with two top 10 finishes in her two races she has competed in, including a 4th-place finish at the Don Mills Open.
Michelle Gray and
Maeve Pestonji both return from last year's team that finished in 2nd at the OUA Championship as both runners have a top 10 finish on the season. Third-year runners
Alexandra McDougall and
Leah Stapleton both will compete in their first OUA Cross Country Championship as both will factor in the team standings. McDougall has a top 10 finish at the Don Mills Open and Stapleton has two top 20 finishes for the Gryphons on the season. First-year runner
Kristina Etezadi will also make her debut at the provincial championship for the team.
FOOTBALL
OUA Quarterfinals
Saturday, October 26, 2024 – 1pm
Alumni Stadium | Guelph, ON
Guelph Gryphons (No. 3-seed) vs Ottawa Gee-Gees (No. 6-seed)
Saturday, October 26 will mark five years to the day the Gryphons football team last
hosted a playoff game as they are set to host the Ottawa Gee-Gees. The Gryphons are coming off their bye week after they finished the regular season with a record of 6-2 to earn the No. 3-seed while the Gee-Gees enter the playoffs as the No. 6-seed after finishing the regular season with a 4-4 record after their win over Toronto on Saturday (Oct. 19). Guelph will be led by their second-year QB
Tristan Aboud, who is coming off a game where he completed 19 of 26 passes for 470 yards and 3 touchdown passes at York, as he looks to continue his impressive play down the stretch heading into the playoffs against one of the best pass defences in the province. One of the top rushing attacks in the OUA will be led by Gryphons third-year running back,
Donavin Milloy, who has rushed for 567 yards on the season and has 3 rushing TDs.
Vyshonne Janusas and
Willem Arseneau have proven to be reliable targets in the passing game as both will look to make their mark against a tough Gee-Gees pass defence that has been holding teams to a conference-best 176.3 yards-per-game through the air.
The Gryphon defence, under first-year defensive coordinator Matt Berry, has shown the ability disrupt the backfield all season long as they have only allowed an average of 133.4 yards-per-game on the ground and have 22 sacks (2nd in OUA) on the season. Third-year defensive lineman
Robert Keyes-Wilson leads the way in that department for the team as he has 5.5 sacks (3rd in OUA) on the season and is third in the conference with 8.5 tackles-for-loss.
Anthony Moretuzzo is the team's leading tackler with 40 tackles and will make an impact from his hybrid role at linebacker and defensive back as he also leads the team with 3 interceptions. The Guelph run defence will be tested by Ottawa running back Charles Asselin, who finished the 2024 regular season as the OUA's leading rusher with 809 rushing yards on the season.
The winner of Saturday's game will advance to the OUA semifinals with their opponent to be known at the conclusion of all three OUA quarterfinal games. Saturday's quarterfinal game from Alumni Stadium can be seen on Rogers TV and online at
oua.tv.
FIELD HOCKEY
OUA Championship Tournament (Final Four Teams)
Saturday, October 26 - Sunday, October 27, 2024
Back Campus Field | Toronto, ON
Saturday, October 26
Guelph Gryphons vs York Lions (OUA Semifinal)
Waterloo Warriors vs Toronto Varsity Blues (OUA Semifinal)
Sunday, October 27
Loser of Guelph/York vs Loser of Waterloo/Toronto (Bronze Medal Game)
Winner of Guelph/York vs Winner of Waterloo/Toronto (Gold Medal Game)
The Gryphons field hockey team are heading to the OUA Field Hockey Championship riding a high, entering the final four on a 6-game winning streak. The Gryphons enter the playoffs with a regular season record of 7-1-2 as the OUA West division winners. For Guelph to have a chance at a banner, they will need to find a way to get over York Lions who have eliminated them twice in the semifinal stage the last two years. The Gryphons and Lions met once during the regular season with the Lions winning the early season matchup, 1-0, on Sept. 22. The Gryphs are led by a trio of fourth-year players in Abby Warriner,
Elly Peters and
Delaney Jacklin. Both Peters and Jacklin lead the team with 6 goals each while Warriner is a stalwart in the Guelph midfield from her sweeper position as a two-time U SPORTS All-Canadian. The OUA Field Hockey Championships takes place at the campus of the University of Toronto's Back Campus Field.
MEN'S LACROSSE
Baggataway Cup Play-In Game
Sunday, October 27, 2024 - 1pm
Gryphon Soccer Complex | Guelph, ON
Guelph Gryphons vs Toronto Varsity Blues
After an incredible regular season which saw the Gryphons men's lacrosse team finish with an undefeated record at 10-0 and topping the CUFLA West Division, the Gryphons will host the Toronto Varsity Blues with the winner moving onto nationals. The Gryphons and Varsity Blues have met once this season with the Guelph coming away with the 15-7 road win on Oct. 12.
Liam Aston has been one of the stars for the Gryphons as he leads CUFLA with 46 points on the season, including 24 goals. Robbie Baxter has also been a prolific scorer on the season as he has 23 goals helping the team to a 10-0 regular season record. The winner of Sunday's game will head to St. Catharines for the 2024 Baggataway Cup, which takes place from November 1-3, hosted by Brock University.
