UBC defeats Guelph, advances to sixth straight final

TORONTO (CIS) – The UBC Thunderbirds needed to win big, and win big they did as the three-time reigning champions defeated the Guelph Gryphons 7-1 to wrap up preliminary play at the 40th CIS-FHC field hockey championship at Back Campus Fields.

UBC and the Victoria Vikes end the preliminary round with identical 1-1-1 records, but the T-Birds advance based on goal differential.

It will be the sixth-straight CIS gold-medal match appearance for the Canada West powerhouses and the seventh time in championship history they will battle the Toronto Varsity Blues for the national banner.

The gold-medal match is set for 3 p.m. on Sunday, with Victoria and Guelph scheduled to battle for bronze at 1 p.m. Both games will be streamed live on CIS-SIC.tv.

T-Birds midfielder Gabby Jayme of Richmond, B.C. opened the scoring in the third minute of the match and UBC added to their lead with goals from Meghan Hayden (North Vancouver), Emily Martin (North Vancouver), Poonam Sandhu (Vancouver) and Molly Driscoll (Delta, B.C.) to take a commanding 5-0 lead at the half.

UBC struck again in the first minute of the second half as Hayden notched her second of the game and 2014 CIS all-Canadian Hannah Haughn added another in the 41st minute, her second of the tournament.

"We came into this game knowing what we needed to accomplish and we really went for it," said Hayden, a second-year UBC defender and midfielder from North Vancouver.  "I think we came together in this game and played really well as a team. We're going to rest tonight and recover well and I think we're ready to face the challenge that Toronto poses tomorrow."

The Gryphons did break the shut out in the 43rd minute with a goal from Ally Chute (Greenfield Park, Que.) off a penalty corner opportunity, but that was all that Guelph could muster in the loss. The Gryphons will appear in their seventh straight bronze-medal match tomorrow and vie for their fifth consecutive podium finish.

"We have to regroup," said Gryphons head coach Michelle Turley. "They executed exceptionally well on their penalty corners, but the second half was a 2-1 game. I thought we had a great second half. We're the only team that has scored on U of T so we know we are capable of scoring goals. We're really excited for play for our fifth bronze and we want to bring it home. I think it will be a great match up."

Source: CIS