GUELPH, Ont. – The historical 2026 season continues for the Guelph Gryphons women's soccer team. On Saturday afternoon (Oct. 31) at the University of Guelph's Gryphon Soccer Complex, the Guelph Gryphons defeated the Nipissing Lakers, 3-1, in OUA semifinal action. With the win, the Gryphons advance to the OUA final, which they will host on Saturday, November 7 at 1pm versus the Ottawa Gee-Gees. Also with the win, the Gryphons book a spot at nationals, with the 2026 U SPORTS Women's Soccer Championships set to take place Nov. 12-15 in Vancouver, British Columbia.
After completing the first perfect regular season in program history (12-0-0), the Gryphons opened their playoffs a week ago with a convincing 3-0 win over the Western Mustangs in the OUA quarterfinals. On Saturday, the No. 4-nationally ranked Gryphons welcomed the No. 6-nationally ranked Nipissing Lakers to Guelph for an OUA semifinal showdown. The Gryphons were able to open the scoring in the 14th minute, when third-year winger
Isabella Trepanier (Belle River, ON) was able to beat a Nipissing defender before playing a ball back to her teammate
Ella Cahill (Milton, ON) whose first-time finish gave Guelph an early 1-0 lead.
In the 23rd minute, the Gryphons would extend their lead to 2-0 thanks to
Ella Cahill's second of the match, with the Cahill once again finishing in-close on her first touch, this time with
Olivia Rizakos setting her up. The Nipissing Lakers were able to trim the deficit to 2-1 with a goal from the OUA's joint-leading scorer, Hannah Neville, scoring in the 29th minute. The match would remain that way until late in the second half, when Guelph would go back up by two goals after a nice through ball from
Ava Hunyady sent
Olivia Rizakos in behind the Lakers back line, where Rizakos would coolly finish to give the Gryphons a 3-1 lead.
The Guelph Gryphons now advance to the 2026 OUA gold medal game, and will host the No. 3-nationally ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 1pm at the Gryphon Soccer Complex. The Guelph Gryphons have won one OUA title in their program history (2017), and will now host the 12-time OUA champion Gee-Gees. The Gryphons also now will take part in the national championship tournament for the sixth time in program history, when they head to Vancouver, Nov. 12-15, for the U SPORTS Women's Soccer Championships. This marks the second consecutive season in which the Gryphons have reached nationals. The Gryphons will head west in two weeks in search of the first national title in program history.
