Women's Soccer vs. York 2012 Gallery The Guelph Gryphons women's soccer team fought to the end to claim a 1-1 tie tonight (Oct. 5) with the visiting York Lions at the Gryphon Soccer Complex.  The tie puts the Gryphons at 4-3-4 while giving the Lions their sixth tie to go 4-1-6.

Looking to maintain the strong momentum following their defeat over the Western Mustangs last weekend, the Gryphons got off to a slow start against an evenly matched York squad.  As each team took the initial stages of the game to weigh each other, possession remained equally split throughout the first half
 
The first sign of life came in the 15th minute as a York corner kick fought its way through the Gryphon defence only to be stopped dead by a stoic play by Alex King (Ottawa).  This would be her first of three saves in the half. 
 
Constant York pressure did nothing to crack Gryphon resolve with the half ending with zeroes across the board as neither team was able to find their rhythm.  And while Gryphon energy remained high, solid midfield and defensive play by the Lions kept the Gryphons out of scoring range for the entirety of the half.
 
Determined to break this streak, the Lions came out strong with a well placed corner in the 46^th to challenge the Gryphon keeper.  With her eyes set on her fourth OUA shut-out, King gobbled up the Lion's efforts in time to rally her Gryphons around her.
 
Inspired by King's miraculous efforts in net, the Gryphons quickly rebounded in the 65th with Lauren Hampton (Calgary) establishing her presence on the field.  Weaving her way into the Lion's box, Hampton was able to connect on a beautiful pass to score on the Gryphons' first shot to put them up 1-0.  However, the lead was short lived as the Lions wasted no time on retaliation by scoring a bouncing goal less than a minute later to spoil King's shut-out dreams.  Nour Ghoneim was awarded the tying goal.
 
Offsides and free kicks kept the Gryphons out of scoring range while giving the Lions plenty of time to find the go-ahead goal.  Luckily, Gryphon defence was able to rally around Lauren Hampton to finish strong and claim the single point in their quest for OUA gold.
 
The Gryphons look to continue their success as they host the Brock Badgers next Wednesday (Oct 10).  Kick off is scheduled for 2:45 in the afternoon at the Gryphons Soccer Complex.