OSHAWA, Ont. – An unforgettable postseason run by the Guelph Gryphons men's soccer team continued on Saturday (Oct. 31) in Oshawa. The Gryphons defeated the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks in penalties, with Guelph winning the game 1-1 (4-2 in penalties) in an OUA semifinal matchup from Vaso's Field in Oshawa. With the win, the Gryphons advance to the 2026 OUA championship final, where they will once again be on the road, traveling to Downsview Park in Toronto to face the TMU Bold (with TMU defeating the McMaster Marauders, 1-0, in the other OUA semifinal). With their win on Saturday over Ontario Tech, the Gryphons also advance to the 2026 U SPORTS Men's Soccer Championships, which will take place Nov. 12-15 in Victoria, British Columbia.
The Gryphons entered the 2026 OUA playoffs as the No. 5-seed in the OUA West division, and picked up a pair of playoff victories to earn a spot in Saturday's OUA semifinals. The Gryphons defeated Waterloo in the opening round, then pulled off a stunning upset of the reigning national champion York Lions in the OUA quarterfinals, and arrived in Oshawa on Saturday as the No. 7-ranked team in the country. The Gryphons were forced to play on Saturday at Ontario Tech without the services of the team's top attacker,
Ambrose Tinmouth, who was forced to miss the match after receiving a second yellow card in the upset win at York. But even with Tinmouth out, the Gryphons were able to jump out to an early lead at Ontario Tech, thanks to standout fourth-year midfielder,
Jacob Cabral. Just as he did against the reigning national champion York Lions, it was Cabral once again opening the scoring for the Gryphons with a long-range effort, with the anthropology major from Milton scoring from 30-yards out, with his right-footed strike giving Guelph a 1-0 lead in the 22nd minute.
The host Ridgebacks were able to level the match at 1-1 just before the half when Imran Abdulatif finished from in close in the 44th minute. The best scoring chance of the second half would come in the 60th minute, when Gryphons third-year forward
Jahmal Boursiquot unleashed a powerful half-volley, but Ontario Tech keeper Peter Sheberstov made his biggest save of the match to keep things knotted at 1-1.
It would stay that way through 90 minutes, as well as two, 15-minute halves of extra time, meaning penalties would be needed to find a winner in this OUA semifinal matchup. In penalties, Gryphons standout second-year goalkeeper
Liam Glas (Toronto, ON) would step up, making back-to-back key saves in the 2nd and 3rd rounds of the penalty shootout to give the Gryphons the advantage. Four consecutive converted penalties from the Gryphons would be capped off by
Dominic Suriano, who calmly rolled his penalty into the bottom left corner in the fifth round to secure yet another road win for the Gryphons in the 2026 playoffs.
The Gryphons now sit one win away from what would be the fourth OUA title in program history, with Guelph previously having been crowned OUA champions in 2021, 2016 and 1990. Game time for the 2026 OUA final is still to be determined on Saturday, Nov. 7 at Downsview Park. The Gryphons are also bound for the west coast, with the team earning a spot at nationals in Victoria, BC (Nov. 12-15). The Gryphons will head to Victoria in two week's time in search of the first national title in program history.
