OSHAWA, Ont. – The Brock Badgers and Western Mustangs won their semifinal matches on Saturday to advance to the gold medal game at the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) women's field lacrosse championship.
 
The championship final is scheduled to take place on Sunday, Nov. 2 at the Oshawa Civic Recreation Complex at 2 p.m., which will wrap up action at the three-day provincial championship hosted by the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT).
 
Western Mustangs def. UOIT Ridgebacks 13-7
Players of the Game: Jenn Daly (UOIT) & Lauren Stewart (WES)
 
In the opening ten minutes of their semifinal, it looked as if Western was going get a free pass to the gold medal game as they took a commanding 5-0 lead over UOIT. However, the Ridgebacks would respond after calling a timeout, coming back to narrow the gap to just 6-3 at halftime.
 
In the final 30 minutes, UOIT's offence would create a number of scoring opportunities, but Western goaltender Caitlin Mancuso managed to come up with save after save, preserving the Mustangs lead. At the other end of the field, UOIT goaltender Jenn Daly was just as impressive, as she earned the player of the game award for the Ridgebacks.
 
Lauren Stewart would clinch the Mustangs victory as she scored three straight goals for the Western over the final ten minutes of play. Taylor Landry and Taylor Milburn would lead the Ridgebacks offence with three and two goals respectively.

Western will be looking for their fourth straight OUA title on Sunday, while keeping their win streak against OUA competition alive. The Mustangs last loss came in 2010 in the championship final against Laurier.
 
UOIT will be looking to win the first medal in program history as they take part in the bronze medal match.



Semi-Final - Brock Badgers def. Toronto Varsity Blues 10-6
Players of the Game: Kathryn Simpson (BRO) & Ann Goulding (TOR)


After missing out on a medal with a fourth place finish in 2013, the Brock Badgers have guaranteed themselves at least a silver medal at this year's championship after beating the Toronto Varsity Blues 10-6 in their semifinal match on Saturday.
 
The teams would trade goals in the first half, with Brock coming out with a 4-3 advantage as Kassidy Doherty scored with just seven second left on the clock.
 
Play in the second half was tilted in favour of the Badgers, as they would score five consecutive goals to take a 9-3 lead. Toronto would not give up cutting the gap to just three, but Brock would add a goal in the final minute to seal the victory.
 
Kathryn Simpson led Brock's offensive attack as she netted three goals in the win. Matching Simpson's offensive output for Toronto was Kelly Robinson who had a hat-trick in the losing effort.
 
 
McMaster Marauders def. York Lions 12-1
Players of the Game: Christine McCauley (MAC) & Gbemi Adegbesan (YORK)
 
In the opening game of day two, McMaster would earn their second win of the season with a convincing 12-1 victory over the York Lions.
 
McMaster goalkeeper Christine McCauley would have a strong performance as she managed to hold York to just one goal, which was scored early in the first half. McCauley was named player of the game for the Marauders.
 
Danielle Gattinger recorded three goals including the game-winner for McMaster while teammate Laura King had the game's opening goal and an assist.
 
 
Queen's Gaels def. Guelph Gryphons 10-9
Players of the Game: Carly Rodgers (QUE) & Laurel McGillis (GUE)
 
The closest game of day two had a wild finish, as Queen's edged out Guelph by a score of 10-9. Queen's tenth goal with two-minutes remaining in the game came off a defensive miscue, as Guelph misplayed a pass back to the keeper that ended up in the back of the net.

Taylor Kidd would score 20 seconds after the own goal, but it was too little, too late for the Gryphons as the Gaels shut the door in the final minute to advance to the fifth place game.
 
MacKenzie Clemens recorded two goals and an assist for Queen's while Kidd finished the night with a hat-trick.
 
Laurier Golden Hawks def. Trent Excalibur 12-7
Players of the Game: Sarah Hatch (WLU) & Denise Miller (TRE)
 
Laurier rebounded after an opening day loss to advance to the fifth place game with a 12-7 victory over the Trent Excalibur.
 
Holding a 6-5 lead early in the second half, Laurier would score back-to-back goals 30 seconds apart to create some separation. Trent would respond with just over ten minutes remaining in the half with two goals of their own, to cut the deficit to just one goal. However, Laurier managed to go on a 4-0 run to close out the game and knock off the Excalibur.
 
Sarah Hatch and Torey Barfoot each recorded hat-tricks for Laurier, while Leah Ogilvie had four goals for Trent in the losing effort. Laurier had a number of opportunities to run away with the game but Trent goalkeeper Denise Miller made a number of key saves to keep the Excalibur within striking distance.
 
 
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE/RESULTS
 
Friday, Oct. 31
Game 1 - Trent Excalibur def. McMaster Marauders 10-9
Game 2 - Guelph Gryphons def. York Lions 18-1
Game 3 - Brock Badgers def. Queen's Gaels 9-8
Game 4 - UOIT Ridgebacks def. Laurier Golden Hawks 11-9
Game 5 - Western Mustangs def. Trent Excalibur 20-5
Game 6 - Toronto Varsity Blues defeated Guelph Gryphons 13-3 

Saturday, Nov. 1
Game 7 - McMaster Marauders def. York Lions 12-1
Game 8 - Laurier Golden Hawks def. Trent Excalibur 12-7
Game 9 - Queen's Gaels def. Guelph Gryphons 10-9
Game 10 - Semi-Final - Brock Badgers def. Toronto Varsity Blues 10-6
Game 11 - Semi-Final - Western Mustangs def. UOIT Ridgebacks 13-7
 
Sunday, Nov. 2
Game 12 – Trent Excalibur vs. Guelph Gryphons - 9 a.m.
Game 13 – Laurier Golden Hawks vs. Queen's Gaels - 10:45 a.m.
Game 14 - Bronze Medal Match – Toronto Varsity Blues vs. UOIT Ridgebacks - 12:30 p.m.
Game 15 - Gold Medal Match – Western Mustangs vs. Brock Badgers - 2 p.m.