WATERLOO, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons field hockey narrowly missed out on a podium finish, coming in 4th-place at the 2025 OUA Field Hockey Championships following a pair of tough 1-0 defeats in their semifinal match against the York Lions (Oct. 25) and their bronze medal match against the Waterloo Warriors (Oct. 26) as both matches were tight-checking, defensive battles. The championships were held at Warrior Field on the campus of the University of Waterloo as the Gryphons earned their place among the final four teams with a regular season record of 7-1-2.
 
On Saturday afternoon (Oct. 25), the Gryphons took on the York Lions in a semifinal matchup as they were looking to make their second consecutive trip to the OUA gold medal match. In a tightly contested match which saw plenty of chances for both teams, it would be the Lions who would score the game's lone goal when Katie Tye scored with two seconds left in the third quarter to give the Lions the lead. The Gryphons were unable to find the tying goal as they were held to one shot in the final quarter as the Lions held them in check, falling 1-0 in their semifinal match.
 
The Gryphons returned to Warrior Field on Sunday (Oct. 26) seeking to win back-to-back OUA medals in the bronze medal match but they needed to do something they haven't done this season, defeat the host Waterloo Warriors. The Gryphons and Warriors met twice this season with both teams drawing one another in Guelph (Oct. 8) before the Warriors defeated the Gryphons 3-2 at Warrior Field just seven days ago (Oct. 19) to earn the right to host the OUA Championships. The Gryphons, like the previous two matchups, would concede the opening goal to Warriors as Mary Lencz scored off the rebound after the initial shot from a penalty corner was saved by Gryphon goalie Katharine Flye. The Gryphons would apply plenty of pressure in the Waterloo end as they looked for an equalizer in the final three quarters but were unable beat Waterloo goalie Grace Miller as the hosts would win the match 1-0 to take home the bronze medal.
 
The York Lions knocked off the Toronto Varsity Blues in the gold medal match to win their first OUA title since 2022 and their eleventh championship dating back to 1971. York will now head to nationals in Charlottetown, PEI (Oct. 30 - Nov. 2).