Guelph opened their season with three thrilling wins on the weekend
Guelph’s field hockey team kicked off the season this weekend with the Gryphons taking away a valuable nine points from three wins. The season opened with a tournament-style weekend that saw Guelph play against Waterloo, Queen’s, and Western.
Guelph defeated the Warriors 7-1 on Saturday and took down the Gaels in a come-from-behind nail biter 4-3 on Sunday. Heading into their second game of the day on Sunday against Western, the Gryphons looked calm and collected as they ran through their warm-ups.
The game began with the Gryphons playing with a relentless style of attack. Rudi Ballard netted the first goal for Guelph at only two minutes into the match. A minute later, third-year forward Olivia Lane drove through two defenders showing off her excellent stickhandling and scoring only three minutes into the game.
“Our forwards are still learning the rotation; Lane has taken a leadership role in that area,” said head coach Michelle Turley. “She’s been doing a great job of working with the rookies, cycling them in. She hadn’t scored a whole lot up until the five she got today.”
The game settled in at 3-0 to Guelph at 11 minutes, with Lane scoring her second goal. Guelph distributed the ball efficiently across the pitch and pressured Western back into their own half. On Western’s first attack of the game, Gryphon defender Rebecca Plouffe shone as she dealt with the new found pressure with ease.
Much of the first half remained in Guelph’s favour as Lane got her hat-trick, making the game 4-0. The Mustangs battled hard and got onto the scoreboard just after Lane, taking the game into halftime at 4-1 for the Gryphons.
The game continued with high intensity into the second half. Western tightened up their defence and started to shut Guelph out of the middle of the field and force them down the wings. As Western battled hard to keep the ball out of the net, the Gryphons knocked on the door relentlessly until Lane scored her fourth goal of the game. Lane then set herself up on the back post for her fifth goal of the game at 65 minutes, sealing the win at 6-1 for Guelph. Lane is a powerhouse forward for the Gryphons, having finished second in last year’s leading goal scorers (second to teammate Allison Chute), there is no doubt that she will be a contender for the honour this year.
“Opening weekend—nine points. Really excited to have the nine points” said Turley. “We’re in a rebuilding year, we have six rookies on a roster of 18, so I’m really pleased with how it’s going so far”
Lane was named Guelph Gryphon athlete of the week after her fire cracker of a performance on Sunday.
