Photo credit APShutter.com
VICTORIA (CIS) – The tournament host University of Victoria Vikes booked their ticket for the gold-medal final of the CIS-FHC women's field hockey championship thanks to a 1-1 draw against the Guelph Gryphons in their third and final round-robin match, Saturday afternoon.
Top-seeded Victoria and No. 4 Guelph end the preliminary round with identical 1-1-1 records but the Vikes advance to the title game thanks to a 6-4 overall goal differential compared to an even 4-4 for the Gryphons.
Victoria returns to the national final, Sunday at 3 p.m. Pacific Time, for the first time since 2013 and hope to capture their 12th McCrae Cup and their first since 2008.
For its part, Guelph can still advance to the final depending on the result of the last round-robin contest which pits later today UBC (1-1-0) against Toronto (1-1-0).
The Vikes trailed by 1-0 from the fourth to the 61st minute until second-year forward Stefanie Langkammer smashed home a penalty corner rebound to tie it up. Vikes defenders Rosie Beale, Annie and Kristina Walters-Shumka had a stand-out performance, closing all the lanes for the Gryphons.
"The pressure we had up front, the team work in the middle and the interceptions in the backfield were all marvelous to watch," said CIS coach of the year Lynne Beecroft. "I hope the girls recognize that it's not really about winning the championship (tomorrow). They will have life long memories with this group. It will be icing on the cake if they end up winning the gold."
Guelph scored early on a penalty corner goal from Moon Weijens, her second of the tournament, while the leadership of fifth-year midfielder Erin Houle was present more than ever.
"We played our hearts out and I am so proud of our girls," said Guelph head coach Michelle Turley. "We gave it everything we had. It's hard going against a team with home team advantage. There were tons of fans and we did a good job of blocking out the crowd. (Houle)'s leadership on the field was unbelievable and it kept our whole team going."
The Gryphons came out charging in the opening minutes as Daniela Jelec drew the first penalty corner in the fourth minute of play. Under soggy conditions Guelph elected for the short-side option straight out to Weijens. The Netherlands native had a quick sweep shot that ricocheted through traffic for the 1-0 lead.
Two minutes later veteran Vike Kathleen Leahy drove the Guelph circle down the left side and earned the first penalty corner for Victoria. The pull out came to Leahy but her shot went too high and was called down for danger.
Ciara Condon nearly doubled Guelph's lead in the 10th minute after rifling a chip shot into the top right corner but the ball was just outside of the circle as the shot was taken.
The Gryphons had another penalty corner chance in the 15th minute but Vikes keeper Piva stood tall to clear the lay-off left option, again from Weijens.
Vike Lizzie Yates sprung second-year team mate Elspeth McGillivray in the 30th minute and the Victoria native did well to draw another penalty corner for the home side. Leahy's shot from the top was booked for a McGillivray deflection but it caught her feet instead leaving the Vikes off the board.
The Gryphons had another strong attack as Jelec's through ball beat the entire Vikes line and Allison Chute collected it on the baseline. The 2015 CIS All-Canadian drove the right baseline forcing a sliding Piva off her line. The Vikes back line did well to recover but still trailed 1-0 entering half time.
Possession largely favoured the Vikes in the second half despite no clear scoring chances emerging for over 20 minutes. Guelph sat on their 1-0 lead and played a half-court press on the Victoria squad, giving the Vikes lots of room to advance but little room as they neared the circle.
Finally the home team found their equalizer on a penalty corner earned from Vikes forward Amanda Kurianowicz. Yates struck the initial shot that resulted in a do-over as the ball hit Houle's feet in the circle. Victoria stuck with the same option and Houle again got a stick on Yates' blast but advantage played on and a loose ball popped kindly for a waiting Langkammer. The Duncan, B.C. one-time swept the ball past Guelph keeper Morgan Kelley to tie the game 1-1.
Guelph had some opportune time to get back on the board as both Leahy and Kurianowicz served overlapping green-card penalties but the Gryphons were unable to threaten the Victoria end zone. The resulting 1-1 tie favours the Vikes into the championship game based on goal differential.
"We have to play our game with whoever it is we play tomorrow," added Beecroft about tomorrow's opponent still being unknown. "I know both teams are very good. We will need to pressure those key distributers and stick to our game plan."
SCORING SUMMARY
VIC: 0-1: 1
GUE: 1-0: 1
First half
GUE Moon Weijens (2), 4th minute
Second half
VIC Stefanie Langkammer (1), 61st
Goaltenders
VIC: Larissa Piva (T, 70:00, 1 GA, 1-1-1)
GUE: Morgan Kelley (T, 70:00, 1 GA, 1-1-1)
Players of the game
VIC: Rosie Beale (Victoria, B.C.)
GUE: Rebecca Plouffe (Oakville, Ont.)
PRE-CHAMPIONSHIP SEEDING
1. Victoria (Canada West champions: 7-0-1 regular season / no playoffs in CW)
2. Toronto (OUA champions: 11-1-0 regular season / 2-0 conference playoffs)
3. UBC (Canada West runners-up: 4-3-1 regular season / no playoffs in CW)
4. Guelph (OUA silver medallists: 11-1-0 regular season / 1-1 conference playoffs)
STANDINGS, SCHEDULE & RESULTS (all times Pacific Time)
Round-robin standings
GP W L T GF GA PTS
1. Victoria 3 1 1 1 6 4 4
2. Guelph 3 1 1 1 4 4 4
3. UBC 2 1 1 0 3 3 3
4. Toronto 2 1 1 0 3 5 3
NOTE: 3 points for a win and 1 point for a tie.
Thursday, Nov. 5
16:00 Game 1: Guelph 2, UBC 1
18:30 Game 2: Victoria 4, Toronto 1
Friday, Nov. 6
16:00 Game 3: UBC 2, Victoria 1
18:30 Game 4: Toronto 2, Guelph 1
Saturday, Nov. 7
12:30 Game 5: Victoria 1, Guelph 1
15:00 Game 6: UBC vs. Toronto (CIS-SIC.tv)
Sunday, Nov. 8
12:30 Bronze medal: TBD vs. TBD (CIS-SIC.tv)
15:00 Championship final: Victoria vs. TBD (CIS-SIC.tv)