The York University Lions field hockey team entered Saturday's OUA championship game against the Toronto Varsity Blues with only one loss on the season, that loss coming to the Blues down at U of T on Oct. 7. As fate would have it, the two teams would meet again, this time with a berth at the U SPORTS championships on the line for a second straight year.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• These two teams entered the game first and second, respectively, in the OUA in goals against. That set up the potential for a low-scoring defensive battle, which is exactly what we got.
• Both teams struggled greatly to generate chances early, as the two teams sat back, suffocating the opponent in the midfield.
• The Lions best chance of regulation came with just over seven minutes to go, but Blues keeper Deepi made the stop to keep the match scoreless. It would remain so through 60 minutes, sending us to sudden-death overtime
• The Lions had a great opportunity early in the first overtime session after a hard pass from Natalie Winter found Lexi Hannah. Her shot from in tight was denied by Gill to keep the game alive.
• Both teams reverted back to that defensive structure for the rest of overtime, and we were off to a second overtime period.
• As was the case for the 67:30 prior, both teams struggled to generate offence, meaning we would need a shootout to decide the winner.
• McKinley Kennedy scored on the first shootout attempt, giving the Blues the lead. Kathryn Carlow evened things up on the Lions second attempt, but the Blues followed with goals from Rebecca Carvalho and Alicia Lung, giving them a 3-1 lead.
• That meant Elise Piper needed to score to keep the Lions alive, but she was denied by Gill, giving the Varsity Blues the win and, with it, a chance to host the U SPORTS championships next weekend.

LOOKING AHEAD:

The Lions now look towards 2024, bringing back much of their roster from this run to a second consecutive OUA championship. However, for a second straight year, they will say goodbye to their top player. This time, Lexi Hannah will depart the roster after a tremendous five years as a tremendous five years as a Lion. Alyssa Brooks will also graduate this season, after scoring six goals in her career, including a career-best four in 2022.