Monday 31 October 2011

Weekend roundup - Oct 29/30 - OUA playoffs

There was only one game played by a Kingston team this weekend, the Queen's Gaels women faced off against the Carleton Ravens in an OUA quarter-final matchup. Queen's had received the bye due to their first place finish in the OUA East, and Carleton had to play a mid-week game against Laurentian.

Carleton came into the game on something of a high due to their defeat of Laurentian by a 5-0 scoreline. They may have been filled with confidence at the starting whistle, but it took just over ten minutes for Queen's striker Jacqueline Tessier to burst that confidence by putting a ball into the top corner of the net to give Queen's an early 1-0 lead. Queen's dominated the run of play, moving the ball around, and not letting the Ravens back into the game. Almost immediately after halftime, Kelli Chamberlain put a chipped cross in that Tessier touched into the back of the net for her second goal of the match. Riley Filion finished off the scoring in the 84th minute on a tap-in from a Breanna Burton cross.

Queen's now moves on to the OUA Final Four this coming weekend.

The other OUA East game featured the Ottawa Gee Gees hosting the University of Toronto Blues. The teams had played two tight games earlier in the season, with Ottawa winning the home opener 1-0 on an early goal and 3-0 with three late goals. This time around, Toronto took the early lead, with Elish McConville scoring in the 28th minute. Ottawa rebounded in the second half with goals from Elisabeth Wong in the 51st and the winner from Gillian Baggot in the 88th minute to win the match 2-1.

On the OUA West side, the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks downed the York Lions by a 1-0 scoreline in a game dominated by Laurier. Heather Malizia scored the only goal of the match in the 70th minute. Sarah Fiorini, York's goalkeeper, gained plaudits from both coaches for her strong play during the game. See Laurier's highlights package. Laurier's win has them hosting the OUA Women's Final Four next weekend.

In the other OUA West matchup the McMaster Marauders hosted the Windsor Lancers and downed them by a 3-0 scoreline. Natalie Brace scored a pair of goals (19th and 72nd minutes) despite missing a penalty at the start of the second half. Hayley Marler scored the final goal of the game in the 78th minute.

The Final Four matchups for Saturday are the Laurier Golden Hawks against the Ottawa Gee Gees and the McMaster Marauders against the Queen's Gaels. The winners of each game meet in the OUA Championship, and both they and the bronze medalist move on to the CIS Championships being held at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec from November 10th to 13th. This is due to the Queen's Gaels being the defending CIS Champions, and thus the OUA gets an extra slot for this year's CIS Championships. So that means that if you win a game at the OUA Women's Final Four, you're taking a trip to Montreal.

On the men's side, both games involving the top seeds were very one-sided. On the OUA East side, the Carleton Ravens hosted the Laurentian Voyageurs and downed them by a 4-1 scoreline. Andrew Latty and Sam McHugh each tallied a goal and Caki Simrooglu scored a brace for Carleton, with Andrew Posteraro getting the lone goal for Laurentian. Laurentian's Davor Alisic was dismissed from the game early in the second half for a challenge on the Ravens' goalkeeper, and their head coach was ejected moments later. With the win, Carleton hosts the OUA Final Four next weekend.

In the other OUA East matchup, the University of Toronto Blues hosted the Ryerson Rams. The game was a tight one with Ryerson scoring in the 13th minute on a goal from Zach Mahrady. The Blues responded in the 60th minute on a goal by Jesse Assing. The Blues had striker Mario Kovacevic sent off for taking his second caution at the end of the first half. The cautions came within moments of each other for dissent and then unsporting behaviour. The game went to extra time and with nothing answered there, penalties ensued with the Blues winning 3-2 after their goalkeeper John Smits stopped two shots from the Rams. UofT put the highlights of the penalties online.

On the OUA West side, the York Lions thumped the Windsor Lancers by a 5-2 result with goals coming from Jarek Whiteman, Charlie Trafford, Adrian Pena, and two from Alon Badat. Windsor answered with goals from Paul Frenken and Adam Jameson. In the other game, McMaster hosted the Guelph Gryphons and defeated them 2-0 with late goals from Gersi Xhuti and Ryan Garnett.

The OUA Men's Final Four matchups for Saturday feature the Carleton Ravens hosting the McMaster Marauders and the York Lions facing the University of Toronto Blues. The winners of each game meet in the OUA Championship, and both move on to the CIS Championships being held at the University of Victoria in BC from November 10th to 13th. Interestingly (and oddly), despite the York men winning the CIS Championships last year, the OUA only sends two men's teams to the CIS this RSEQ and AUS have been "assigned" berths for some reason, rather than the medalist's conference getting the extra berth.

All of the OUA Final Four games for both men and women should be streamed online by SSN Canada. They should have more details later in the week.

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