PREVIEW: Top seed Gee-Gees eyeing strong playoffs

Another regular season has wrapped up for Gee-Gees women's soccer, and the team did so in fine fashion winning the last eight games in a row. This took Ottawa to a 14-1-1 record, good for top the OUA East, and earned a bye through the first round of the playoffs. 

The theme of translating regular season success into post-season glory will be present throughout the playoffs for the Gee-Gees, and it all starts with the OUA Quarter-finals on Sunday, October 28^. Action will kick-off at 1 p.m. at Gee-Gees Field. Tickets for the game will be available at tickets.geegees.ca and the game will be webcast live on OUA.tv

Ottawa will host an OUA quarterfinal matchup on Sunday - the first time ever they host a playoff game at Gee-Gees Field after years of success at Matt Anthony Field. The high-stakes scenario will provide good practice under pressure at this field, as the Gee-Gees prepare to host the U SPORTS National Championships there November 8-11. 

As hosts of the Nationals, the Gee-Gees will receive an automatic berth in the tournament, however it is highly important to this team that they perform up to par of their expectations during the OUA playoffs.

A perennial powerhouse in the OUA, Ottawa last one the conference title in the 2014 season, but have only won 4 playoff games since then, so this year they will be looking to prove themselves in the post-season once again, and show that they deserve a spot at the National Championships as more than just the hosts.  

Throughout the regular season Ottawa has shown that they are up for the task, as they dominated the OUA, only losing once and finishing as the highest scoring team in the conference. Head Coach Steve Johnson, who has been with the program for 25 seasons and has coached the Gee-Gees to 8 OUA Championships, believes this team can make waves in the playoffs.

"I really like the group we have this year, and we've been showing how good we are all season long. Obviously we feel if we can take our current form into the playoffs, there is a lot to be confident about."

Ottawa's first playoff opponent, Toronto, will travel to Ottawa with a 5-6-5 regular season record which placed sixth in the regular season standings. The Varsity Blues upset Carleton on Wednesday night on the road with a 1-0 win to advance. This will mark the third straight season that Toronto travels to face the Gee-Gees in playoff play, with Ottawa earning wins in the first round in 2016 and 2017. The Gee-Gees defeated Toronto 2-1 and 2-0 in regular season play this year.