U SPORTS RECAP : Host Gee-Gees gallop to semis with win over Dinos
Home cooking paid off for the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees, as they beat the Calgary Dinos 2-1 Thursday evening.
Home cooking paid off for the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees, as they beat the Calgary Dinos 2-1 Thursday evening at Gee-Gees Field. Delaney Rickert-Hall and Katherine Bearne got the goals for Ottawa.
Rickert-Hall set Gee-Gees Field ablaze four minutes in. She had an audacious effort from 25 yards out that beat the goalkeeper clean. Ottawa took the early advantage.
Calgary pushed back and were able to respond in the 19th minute. A long shot was saved by goalkeeper Margot Shore, but the rebound was collected by Montana Leonard and she slotted it into the back of the net.
Bearne turned things into a back-and-forth affair only three minutes later. She opened up and shot with her left from distance that eluded keeper Lauren Houghton, sending the uOttawa crowd into a frenzy again.
Ottawa had another glorious opportunity when a ball was lofted over the top to Mikayla Morton. It was good goalkeeping by Houghton however, as she pounced on the ball. A spirited first half ended with the hosts ahead 2-1.
The Gee-Gees took control of the game in the second half, seeing the majority of the possession and making life easy for Shore between the sticks. The Dinos attempted to comeback in the dying moments, but a solid Gee-Gees defence held them off.
"Going through the season, you're playing all kinds of games but there's nothing that compares to the environment and the crowd, especially here in being on our home field," said Bearne, who was named the Player of the Game for the Gee-Gees. "Just being at nationals and playing tough competition and playing someone we've never seen, we know it's a big game."
The Gee-Gees advance to the semifinals to take on the McMaster Marauders in a rematch of the OUA semifinal. That match goes on Saturday at 12:30 p.m ET / 9:30 a.m. PT. Calgary will play in the consolation bracket, and face the Université de Montréal on Friday.
Players of the Game:
Ottawa: Katherine Bearne
Calgary: Maddison Fritze