GUELPH – The Guelph Gryphons men's soccer team entered the OUA postseason with a clear understanding of what it takes to succeed in elimination matches. The defending conference champions, and U SPORTS bronze medalists, are battle tested. Guelph showed that ability to raise its level, defeating the Windsor Lancers 2-0 in the opening round of the playoffs Wednesday night at the Gryphon Soccer Complex.  

The Gryphons were sharp from the beginning, scoring early and then keeping a clean sheet to advance. They will play the McMaster Marauders in Hamilton on Sunday in an OUA quarter-final.

Head coach Keith Mason noticed his players were a little quieter than usual before the match. He figured that was a positive thing.

"The guys looked good and focused, and determined," said Mason. "All of those things they had to be tonight.

"We did well. I'm very happy with the result."

The Gryphons (12-3-2 after the playoff win) entered the postseason seeded third in the OUA. They had faced Windsor last Sunday in the season finale, a 0-0 draw. But Guelph got the dream start that any side looks for in a knockout match. Fourth-year midfielder Ryan Vyrostko scored Guelph's opening goal in just the fourth minute of the match. By the time fourth-year defender Conor O'Callaghan added a second later in the half, the Gryphons were well on their way to earning another playoff date.

Mason said the early goal helped settle any nerves.
 

"On Sunday, Windsor set up very defensively and made it hard for us to play," the coach said. "Today, we felt that if we could get a goal early, as the game wears on, they open up, which suits us. And that's what we did. When we got that goal, we knew that was going to be a key. If they wanted to sit back and defend for their lives, that's fine, we've already got the goal and we'll take the 1-nil and go home.

"The timing of the second was perfect. It really opened up the game."

The Gryphons showed their hunger in the first half. Vyrostko hopped on a loose ball in the area and buried a shot into the middle of goalkeeper Kyle Vizirakis's net. Guelph would make it 2-0 later in the 29^th minute when midfielder Youssef Zaghloul, who also assisted on the opening goal, sent a high corner kick into the area that found the feet of O'Callaghan. The big defender showed some sublime skill by using his left foot to go behind his back and on to the right before sending a hard shot just inside the right post of the Windsor net.

It looked like the defending champions were cruising at that point but just before the half, second-year goalkeeper Simon Norgrove made his most important stop of the match, one of four saves in total. A Lancers' corner from the right ended up at Patrick Sikora's feet and the Windsor midfielder unleashed a hard shot that took a slight deflection. Norgrove dove far to his left and knocked it out for another corner, preserving the 2-nil lead.

"It was going in for sure," Mason said of Norgrove's critical save. "That was a key moment right on half time. If they score then, it changes the perspective of the game."

Windsor didn't create many clear goal-scoring opportunities but the visitors did tax the Guelph back line with their direct play. Mason said his Gryphons had to defend hard and well.

"Windsor left two or three players up, defended, and played a lot of long balls to try and get in behind us," Mason said. "It means a lot of running and chasing, a lot of head balls and individual battles. All of those things, we did well."

Guelph controlled much of the match and the victory was well-deserved. A repeat mistake-free performance will be needed to advance against the Marauders, who finished just ahead of the Gryphons in second place with a 12-3-1 record.

Two of Guelph's three defeats came against McMaster, a 4-2 loss in Hamilton on Sept. 10 and a 2-1 Marauders' win at the Gryphon Soccer Complex on Oct. 11.

"We know it's going to be a tough match," said Mason, who is planning a rest day Thursday before resuming training. "They're very good and quick going forward, very direct. It will be a big challenge for us.

"The previous two games, we were in them. Some individual errors cost us. We've to cut those things out and play our game to give ourselves a chance."