Ottawa, ON – With just two teams left, it all comes down to this.

After two dramatic semi-final victories, the OUA Women’s Soccer season has come down to its last pair of teams. The York Lions, champions in 2019, head up to Matt Anthony Field on the campus of the University of Ottawa to take on the 2018 champions in the Ottawa Gee-Gees. 

The last time these two teams met in the OUA Playoffs? 2019, when the York Lions travelled to Matt Anthony Field and took down the Gee-Gees 3-2 in extra-time in the 2019 OUA Semifinal before the Lions ultimately won the 2019 OUA title and the 2019 U SPORTS National title. 

It is 2022 now, though, and these teams each took unique paths to get to this last game.

How did they get here?

York 

Not many teams have had to take as tricky a road as the York Lions have into the OUA Final.

It was another strong season for the York Lions in 2022. After a disappointing end to the 2021 season saw them fall to the Nipissing Lakers in the quarterfinals, the Lions came roaring back with a second-place finish in the OUA West Division (7-2-3).

Into the playoffs, the Lions faced a tough Guelph Gryphons squad in the quarterfinals. Darcy Faichinie and Nia Flemming-Thompson put York up 2-0 barely 30 minutes in, but a pair of late goals from Anna Bernardi and Olivia Brown sent the game into extra time and ultimately penalties where York took the win 2-2 (5-3).

That gave the Lions a Wednesday night date with the Queen’s Gaels at Richardson Stadium in Kingston. Yet again, the Lions found themselves in a back-and-forth affair as Cecilia Way opened the scoring five minutes in for Queen’s, but Jotam Chouhan answered ten minutes later for the Lions. With the score 1-1 at halftime, a 62nd-minute goal from Mattie Strickler put Queen’s up but barely 90 seconds later, Alexandra Quaidoo tied it at 2-2. This meant that, once again, the Lions needed extra time, and this time it was Alexandra Quaidoo in the 119th minute, burying the winner and sending the Lions into the OUA Final.

The Lions have already had to battle through a pair of difficult opponents to get to this point. The Gee-Gees are no different, but what the Lions have shown this playoff run is that almost magic-like ability to find a way to win when they need to, and in a one-game final, that is crucial.

Player to Watch: Jotam Chouhan

Ottawa

When they say every game counts, they mean it. After a middling start to the season, including losing 1-0 to the Toronto Varsity Blues on Sept. 11, the Ottawa Gee-Gees rolled through the rest of the regular season, winning seven of their last eight games. That eighth game being a 0-0 tie in a regular season finale in RMC, while the majority of the regular roster was in Mexico for the FISU America tournament.

That missed potential final win put the Gee-Gees in second place in the OUA East and made them a quarterfinal host against the one team to beat them in the regular season, the Toronto Varsity Blues.

The Gee-Gees quickly seemed to decide that history would not repeat itself as they outshot Toronto 18-3 on the afternoon. With a first-half goal from Cassandra Provost, a pair of goals a minute apart in the 60th minute from Kayla Kyle and Angelina Gendreau and a late insurance marker from Provost, the Gee-Gees walked off their field with the easy 4-0 win.

That set them up to travel to London, Ontario, for a matchup with the Western Mustangs. The top team in the OUA West, the Mustangs, demonstrated how they earned the title as they flexed their defensive muscle and held Ottawa to just seven shots and three on target. The Gee-Gees did them one better, though, as they Western to just five shots and one on target.

Nibo Dlamini, Ciara Dunne and Angelina Gendreau converted on penalties, and the Ottawa Gee-Gees booked a trip to Quebec City for the 2022 National Championship and a chance to host the 2022 OUA Final.

Not many teams in the OUA can come with the pedigree the Gee-Gees recently had as the 2018 National Champions, 2019 OUA Bronze Medallists, and 2019 FISU World Cup Champions.

This team knows how to win when it counts, and facing a York Lions squad that took them down in the 2019 playoffs would present the perfect opportunity for revenge.

Player to Watch: Cassandra Provost

All the action kicks off at 12:00 pm on OUA.tv, cbcsports.ca and the CBC Gem App.