WATERLOO, Ont. - The Guelph Gryphons are off to the OUA final thanks to a 2-1 win over the Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday afternoon in Waterloo at the 2018 OUA Field Hockey Championships. After both teams were tied at 1-1 after regulation, it would be the Gryphons advancing with a 3-2 advantage in a shootout.

Rebecca Plouffe put the Gryphons on the scoreboard first at the 11-minute mark off a penalty corner.  Toronto found the equalizer in the 28th minute for a 1-1 tie going into the break. Both teams were scoreless in the 2nd half.

In the shootout, Katherine MacMillan, Danielle Crumpton and Kendra Puttick all scored for Guelph. Amanda Hodgert recorded the win and was outstanding in net for the Gryphons.

Mackenzie Janzen was named Player of the Game.

Gryphon Take:

"It's always an extremely competitive match when we face Toronto. The athletes had confidence in themselves and each other as well as our game plan which was very effective. It was an exciting game! Big win! Looking forward to a rematch of last year's OUA Championship." ~ head coach Michelle Turley

The Gryphons will now face the top-seeded York Lions, who were 8-2 winners over the host Warriors in the other semi-final. The Gryphons and Lions will square off at 3pm on Sunday, with Guelph in search of their first OUA title since 2013. The winner of Sunday's game will also host the U SPORTS Championship, which will comprise of a best-two-of-three series versus the Canada West champion to determine a 2018 national champion. During their two regular season meetings versus York, the Gryphons tied 1-1 and lost 2-0. The OUA gold medal match from Waterloo can be seen live online at oua.tv.