Varsity Athletics | 10/24/2026 1:33:00 PM

Saturday, October 24^th saw the start of the OUA Women's Field Hockey Championships hosted by York University. York being the overall number one seed earned the right to host this year championships.

York vs Guelph

The first match of the day started at 11 AM EST between the one-seeded York Lions and the four-seeded Guelph Gryphons. The game started out going back and forth between the two sides with York dominating most of the play. York was able to register four shots in the frame, with two by Katie Tye, one by Jordyn MacDonald, one by Juliet Redelaar. York also applied tons of pressure, forcing four corners as well in the frame but unable to find the back of the net as the first quarter ended still 0-0.

In the second Quarter, York picked up right where they left off, getting an early shot from Elise Piper which was turned away by Samantha Wright. York would finally break through off a penalty stroke from Katie Tye to give York a 1-0 lead. York would put two more shots on net, one from Gates McAllister and one from Keira Ho, but both would be turned away by Wright. York carried a 1-0 lead into halftime.

The second half got underway and York picked up right where they left off getting an early shot on net from Juliet Redelaar which was turned away by Wright. Shortly after York got two penalty corner opportunities, with Abby Thompson putting a shot on net that was also turned away. At 9:30 in the third quarter, Mufarowashe Matambo was able to put one in the back of the Guelph goal to extend the York lead to 2-0. Keira Ho would add two more shots in the frame but was unable to put them on net, while Kathryn Carlow added another shot on target that was also saved, as York ended the third quarter up 2-0.

As the fourth quarter begun it followed a similar path to the first three with the Lions dominating most of play. York registered four more shots in fourth frame, including two from Kathryn Carlow but both were blocked on their way towards the net. Elise Piper and Juliet Redelaar both registered shots in the frame for also. The final horn sounded and York emerged victorious with a 2-0 victory, securing their place in the OUA Championship final on Sunday, awaiting the winner of Toronto vs Waterloo.

Toronto vs Waterloo
 
At 1 PM EST, the two seeded Toronto Varsity Blues and the three seeded Waterloo Warriors faced off in the second OUA Field Hockey Semi-Final match. The game was expected to be an evenly fought contest and certainly was exactly that through the first quarter. Waterloo got a penalty corner early on which led to a shot from Tavie Gould on net that was saved by Toronto Goalkeeper Mary Yang. Toronto would go on to have two penalty corners of their own but could not generate anything out of them. Sierra Blackburn put one towards the net for Waterloo also but could not find the net as it sailed wide. The first quarter ended with the score still even at 0-0.

The second quarter kept the same game flow as the first as both sides traded chances back and forth. Waterloo got a penalty corner early in the frame but could not generate anything from it. From there, Toronto poured on the pressure, getting a shot on net from Olivia Thompson but it was saved by Waterloo Goalkeeper Grace Miller. Toronto kept applying pressure as they would secure three more penalty corners in the frame, with one ending up as a shot on goal for Maggie Mullins that was also saved by Miller. Waterloo then applied some pressure of their own, securing their own penalty corner followed by a shot by Jennifer Munford but that shot was blocked before it could reach the net. Neither side could break the tie as they headed into halftime still tied at 0-0.

The second half started and the game pace picked up tremendously with both teams generating chances in the frame. Toronto and Waterloo traded shots early, with Toronto getting shots on net from Lisa van der Knaap and Maggie Mullins, while Waterloo's shot came from Maeve Turner. All three shots were saved to keep the score tied 0-0. However, Toronto continued to apply pressure and was finally able to break the tie 5 minutes into the third quarter off a goal from Ava Airnes to give the Varsity Blues a 1-0 lead. Toronto would go on to have another shot from Danielle D'Silva but it was saved by Miller again. Toronto then ran into some card trouble as Ellie Mullins was sent off with a green card. Roughly a minute later, Maddy Kim was sent off with a yellow card, putting Toronto down again. Waterloo would respond with a shot from Tavie Gould on net that would be saved by Yang. Toronto would continue applying pressure as Vanessa Marques would sail a shot high. The Varsity Blues would also get some penalty chances towards the end of the quarter and capitalize on one of them 3 second before the end of the quarter with Imke Arndt scoring to give the Varsity Blues a 2-0 lead after three quarters.

The fourth quarter started and the Varsity Blues did not let up. Toronto would continue to apply pressure with shots from both Danielle D'Silva and Olivia Thompson going on net but they would both be saved by Grace Miller. Kirsten D'Silva would continue the pressure as she would fire two shots towards the net with the Warriors able to make defensive saves on both. Waterloo would attempt to spark their team by pulling their goalie with 5:41 left to give themselves an extra attacker. Their attempt to tie the game would be unsuccessful as Toronto would hold on to secure a 2-0 victory over the Warriors and set up a battle of Toronto in the OUA Championships tomorrow.

Championship Sunday

York and Toronto will meet in the final at York's Alumni Field Sunday afternoon with the game set to start at 1 PM EST for the OUA Field Hockey Championship gold medal game. Waterloo and Guelph will play in the bronze medal game at 11 AM EST also at York's Alumni Field. Admission is free for whoever would like to attend the bronze and gold medal games on Sunday afternoon.