GUELPH, Ont.
- The Golden Hawks came out firing in the opening minutes but were held to a 2–2 draw by the Guelph Gryphons in their final regular season game on Friday night.
Laurier wasted no time asserting control early in the first half. Just 90 seconds into the match,
Sasha Marikano opened the scoring with her first goal of the season, giving the Hawks a quick 1–0 lead.
The pressure continued as
Jada Johnson doubled the advantage in the fourth minute, capitalizing on sustained offensive momentum to make it 2–0 Laurier.
Guelph began to settle into the game midway through the half and pulled one back in the 20th minute when Olivia Rizakos, assisted by Ella Cahill, found the back of the net to cut Laurier's lead to 2–1.
Despite several quality chances for both sides, including a Guelph shot off the crossbar from Emma O'Connor and key saves by Laurier keeper
Mya Brodrecht, the Hawks held their narrow lead into halftime.
The second half saw Guelph pushing hard for the equalizer, with multiple corner kicks keeping Laurier pinned in their own end.
The Gryphons finally broke through in the 71st minute as Katie Kimens scored her first of the season, assisted by Jasmine Burke, to tie the match 2–2.
Laurier made several late substitutions in search of a spark, while Brodrecht stood tall with a crucial save in stoppage time to deny Olivia Stavropoulos and preserve the draw.
Having earned a point with the result, Laurier will finish fifth in the OUA West and travel to either McMaster or Windsor for a quarterfinal match-up on Wednesday night.
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