Gryphons capture OUA field hockey title

LONDON, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons took back the OUA field hockey title on Sunday afternoon, as the women beat the University of Toronto Varsity Blues 1-0 at TD Waterhouse Stadium in London, Ont.

Tegan Stairs (Kitchener, Ont.) tipped in a shot from sister Brienne less than two minutes into the match, and that goal held up as the game winner, giving the Gryphons the 2009 OUA banner.

“This is amazing. We’ve worked so hard all year and it finally came together,” said the younger Stairs, who was competing in her first OUA title game.

It was back and forth between the two teams on Sunday, as both squads had several chances to score. Toronto, in particular, had a few big opportunities in the second half but couldn’t convert to tie the game.

“We missed two chances that were open-netters and a breakaway,” said Toronto head coach John DeSouza. “You can’t miss chances against a team like that. If you do, you’re going to have a tough time. They’re too good.”

Guelph also got a stellar performance from goaltender Dorothy Marcy (Oliver, B.C.), who was tested regularly and made several key stops.

“That was the best game she’s ever played in her life,” said Guelph head coach Michelle Turley, whose team finished undefeated in OUA play this year (14-0-2). “She hasn’t had to play defence very often because we’re always on attack, so it was great to see. It was a great experience for her to get ready for this week coming up.”

Both the Gryphons and Varsity Blues will travel to Victoria next weekend (Nov. 5-8) for the 2009 CIS Championships. In fact, they’ll likely meet up again out west.

“We’re looking forward to the challenge obviously,” said DeSouza. “The girls are a little bit disappointed right now. It’s going to be important for us to sort of recover quickly and really just get psyched up for it. I think we’ve got some things in the bag that we can use.”

The Gryphons, meanwhile, have the chance to enter the national tournament as the No. 1 seed after going undefeated so far this year. The other teams in the event will be Toronto, UBC, UVIC and the University of Alberta.