OUA Final: Toronto Win 35th Title in a Shootout Thriller Over York
Toronto are OUA champions again, and they did it the hard way.
The Varsity Blues beat the York Lions 2-1 in a shootout on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Field in Toronto, after the final finished 1-1. It is Toronto’s 35th OUA field hockey title, their first since 2023, and their third in the past five seasons.
For most of the game it looked like one goal would settle it. Toronto broke through in the 52nd minute when fourth-year forward Ava Airnes scored for the second game running this weekend, and the Blues defended that lead like their season depended on it, because it did. York kept coming, and with the clock nearly gone they got one last penalty corner. Katie Tye buried a high shot to tie it, and suddenly a final that Toronto had controlled was going to a shootout.
That is where second-year goalkeeper Mary Yang took over. The Calgary native made four saves in regulation and three more in the shootout, and she was named player of the match. In the fifth round, with the shootout level, Yang stopped Abby Thompson, and fourth-year defender Kirsten D’Silva stepped up and fired home the championship winner. Cue the celebrations.
York will be gutted. They had Toronto beaten with seconds to play, and they leave with silver after pushing the champions all the way. But there is no shame in this one. Finals like this are why the OUA tournament matters, and York made Toronto earn every inch of it.
The bronze medal game was just as dramatic. Guelph beat Waterloo 2-1 in a shootout at York University, and this one needed ten rounds to find a winner. Waterloo struck first, but fourth-year Ella Rideout tied it in the second quarter, and nothing could separate the sides through regulation and overtime. In the tenth round of the shootout, second-year midfielder Liv Straus scored the goal that finally ended it.
It is Guelph’s turn to stand on the podium after two years of heartbreak against these same opponents. Waterloo beat them in the gold-medal game in 2024 and again in the bronze-medal game in 2025. This time, Guelph got their medal.
Toronto’s title also keeps a remarkable run going. Eight straight OUA championships from 1963 to 1970, nine straight from 1971 to 1979, five in a row from 1997 to 2001, and now a third banner in five seasons. That is what a programme looks like.
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