OSHAWA, Ont. – The No. 2 ranked UOIT women's soccer team is heading back to the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) final four – but this time it will be on home turf.
UOIT advanced to the championship for the third time in program history with a 2-0 win over the Laurentian Voyageurs at the Oshawa Civic on Sunday evening.
The Ridgebacks earned the right to host the championship for the first time in program history after finishing in first place in the OUA eastern conference with a 14-0-2 record.
"I am extremely proud of the girls for getting back to the final four," said UOIT head coach
Peyvand Mossavat. "I am looking forward to hosting the final four at home. I talked about hosting a championship game at home in my interview and now that it is a possibility, it is really exciting."
Up against Laurentian in the quarter-finals, UOIT knew they would be in tough as the Voyageurs handed the Ridgebacks one of their two draws on the year. The first half was even with the teams heading into the locker rooms in a goal-less deadlock, with UOIT holding a 4-2 advantage in shots.
To open the second half,
Nicole Zajac (Mississauga, Ont.) connected with
Rachel Matthews (Ajax, Ont.) off a corner kick, as the fourth-year veteran got her right foot on the ball and buried it in the top right corner of the net to get the Ridgebacks on the board.
With Laurentian pressing for the equalizer with their goalkeeper playing up in injury time,
Lauren Rea (Burnaby, B.C.) cleared the ball off the line and sent it up-field to
Taijah Henderson (Ajax, Ont.) who ran in from half and scored on the empty net for the insurance marker.
"Laurentian is so well coached, they are a hard-working team and difficult to play against," said Mossavat. "Credit to Rob (Gallo) and his team for a really exciting game."
UOIT outshot Laurentian 9-1 in the second half and 13-3 overall in the match.
Victoria Savage (Woodbridge, Ont.) stopped both of Laurentian's shots on target for the clean sheet.
This will be the third time in program history that UOIT has advanced to the OUA final four. They have reached the podium each time, earning a bronze medal in 2014 and winning their first championship title in 2016.
The Ridgebacks will match up against the Guelph Gryphons in the semifinal, who shutout Laurier 5-0 on Sunday afternoon. Guelph finished in second place in the western conference with a 10-4-2 record. This will be the first time UOIT has played Guelph in postseason play.
Western (14-1-1), who finished in first place in the western conference, beat Waterloo 4-0 in quarter-final action. They will play Queen's (12-3-1) in the other semifinal after the Gaels defeated Ottawa in penalty kicks.
The championship will take place from November 4-5 at the Oshawa Civic. Game times will be announced later this week.
QUICK LOOK AT THE RIDGEBACKS
Overall Record: 16-1-2
Conference Record: 14-0-2
Next Game: OUA Semfinal vs. Guelph – Saturday, Nov. 4 @ Oshawa Civic
