RECAP: Ottawa advances to OUA Final and National Championship in win over Guelph

The Ottawa Gee-Gees punched their ticket to hosting the OUA Championship and advance to the U SPORTS National Championship with a win in penalty kicks over Guelph on Saturday.

Guelph stormed to a quick lead in the seventh minute, scoring on a penalty kick. With the Gee-Gees ratcheting up the pressure throughout the remainder of the first half, an equalizer looked inevitable.

Ottawa finally broke through in the 58th minute when Allana Oriente capitalized to tie the game. Despite the Gee-Gees throwing eight shots towards the Guelph keeper in the second half, they were unable to find the go-ahead goal.

After two overtime periods, the game had to be decided by penalty kicks.

Fifth-year Ottawa keeper Cassidy Joslin was a force for the Gee-Gees, stopping three Guelph penalty kicks to hand her team the victory and keep their season alive.

Joslin stopped Guelph's first, third, and fourth shots, to go along with six saves during the game.

Nibo Dlamini, Maya Smith, and Sabrina Mangiaracina all scored in the penalty kicks as Ottawa finished the penalty kicks with a 3-1 advantage to secure the win.

In the other OUA semifinal in North Bay, the Nipissing Lakers defeated the York Lions 2-1 and will visit Ottawa with the OUA title on the line.

What They're Saying:

"I'm so happy to be in this position right now. My team fought for me, I kept saying just get us to PKs and I'll do my thing. Getting out ticket to nationals for a third year in a row and having the opportunity to win an OUA title for the third year in a row is amazing." – Gee-Gees goalkeeper Cassidy Joslin.

"The first save was fantastic, it just gets in the heads of the Guelph shooters, even though they scored on the second one [Joslin] was so close to getting it, she really showed her ability to read the play and her athleticism." – Steve Johnson, Gee-Gees head coach.

Up Next:

OUA Championship action against Nipissing will get underway at Matt Anthony Field on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 12 p.m. The Gee-Gees have a 2-0 advantage against their East Division rivals with a 2-1 win in North Bay and a 5-0 win in Ottawa. Tickets are available at tickets.geegees.ca and the game will be streaming live on OUA.tv