HAMILTON, Ont. – The Gryphons women's soccer team saw their 2025 season officially come to an end on Friday (Nov. 7) from Ron Joyce Stadium in Hamilton following an 1-0 defeat to the Cape Breton Capers in a consolation semifinal match at the 2025 U SPORTS Women's Soccer Championships. The lone goal of the match came in the 29th minute when a Cape Breton cross from Makenna Bowser had just enough loft and pace to get over the outstretched
Sabrina Spano as it found the boot of Tara Isama who put it into the open net, as her goal was enough for the Atlantic champions to advance to the consolation final on Saturday.
The Gryphons had their chances early on to grab the lead, with the best chance coming in the 20th minute as
Olivia Brown was able to get behind the Cape Breton defence and get a good shot away in the box, but Capers goalie Ellie Lancaster came out and made the stop, thwarting the best Gryphon chance in the first half. Guelph continued to apply the pressure in the second half, including a header chance off a corner from U of G defender
Katie Kimens, but Lancaster was able to scoop it up to keep the Gryphons scoreless. The best Gryphon chance came in the 70th minute as
Elise Bell found
Aislynn Essibrah cutting to net. Essibrah got a great shot off, but Cape Breton's goalkeeper, Ellie Lancaster, made a fantastic save, getting her left hand to to the ball to knock it away. The Gryphons continued to press for the equalizer but were unable to solve the Capers defence as the AUS champions held on for the 1-0 victory in the cold, rainy conditions at McMaster University.
Cape Breton goalkeeper Ellie Lancaster had a tremendous match, stopping all 9 Gryphon shots she faced in the win.
Sabrina Spano was sharp in the Guelph net, making four saves. Cape Breton will now play the University of Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday (Nov. 8) in the U SPORTS 5th-place game.
A tremendous season from Gryphons women's soccer team comes to an end as they close out 2025 as the top seed of the OUA West division with an 8-1-3 regular season record. Guelph qualified for nationals for the first time since 2017 with wins over Laurier and Queen's and earned their spot in the OUA Championship game where they finished as finalists.
