The McCrae Cup returns to Ontario for the first time since 1996 after the host Toronto Varsity Blues captured their tenth national field hockey title with a 1-0 overtime victory over the OUA-champion Guelph Gryphons on Sunday afternoon in the gold medal game of the 2007 CIS women’s field hockey championship at U of T’s Varsity Centre.

Fifth-year forward Amanda Treacy (Burlington, Ont.), playing her final game in the Blue and White, drove a ball into the net on a penalty corner four minutes into the first period of sudden-death overtime.

“When I heard that back board I just ran to my goalie, which is what I usually do and unfortunately left all of my teammates in the other team’s circle celebrating,” said Treacy after the game. “I really have my team to thank. I wasn’t really playing my game all game and they kept us in it.”

Defences controlled the first half. Guelph’s defenders kept Toronto to just two direct shots on net, while Varsity’s Alice Zhao (Delta, B.C.) made a number of spectacular saves in the face of a persistent Gryphon attack.

“Guelph has been defending well all week,” said Toronto head coach John DeSouza. “They’ve been absorbing everything people had to throw at them. We knew that if we could minimize their chances that we’d be in good shape to win the game. They didn’t really give up anything against us and we didn’t give up anything against them.”

Both teams proved unable to pull together any tangible offensive output in the second 35 minutes. Toronto’s Kristen Shier (North Vancouver, B.C.) has a penalty stroke awarded to her with eight minutes left to play, but Guelph’s Jaclyn Butterworth successfully repelled the shot, leaving regulation to end in a scoreless tie.

Toronto’s 10 McCrae Cup titles ties them with the Victoria Vikes for second on the all-time list. The Blues won the inaugural CWIAU field hockey championship in 1975, and last took the national crown in 1996. With a 4-2 win over the Vikes. The UBC Thunderbirds hold a record 11 national titles to their credit.

Guelph’s silver medal is their highest finish in two appearances at a CIS field hockey tournament. They finished fourth in their previous visit to nationals in 2005, losing 1-0 to Toronto in the bronze medal match. Guelph was vying to be just the second Ontario team to win a CIS field hockey title, as Toronto is the only OUA team to have won a national banner.

Scoring Summary
74th, TOR, Amanda Treacy, PC

GUE 0-0-0: 0
TOR 0-0-1: 1

Goaltenders
GUE: Jaclyn Butterworth (L, 74:00, 1 GA, 3-1-1)
TOR: Alice Zhao (W, 74:00, 0 GA, 3-1, SO)

Players of the game
GUE: Erin Mitchell (Burlington, Ont.)
TOR: Amanda Treacy (Burlington, Ont.)

TOURNAMENT XI
Sumeet Aujla - Victoria - Surrey, B.C.
Jaclyn Butterworth - Guelph - Winnipeg, Man.
Laura Dowling - UBC - Kanata, Ont.
Tyla Flexman - UBC - Vancouver, B.C.
Leanne Kelly - York - Newmarket, Ont.
Ali Lee - Victoria - Victoria, B.C.
Kathryn MacPherson - UBC - New Westminster, B.C.
Cailie O’Hara - Toronto - Oakville, Ont.
Effie Petrou - York - Oakville, Ont.
Samantha Taylor - Toronto - Scarborough, Ont.
Shannon Treacy - Toronto - Burlington, Ont.

Tournament MVP - Ali Lee - Victoria - Victoria, B.C.

SEEDING, STANDINGS, SCHEDULE & RESULTS (all times LOCAL)
Seeding
1. UBC Thunderbirds
2. Guelph Gryphons
3. Toronto Varsity Blues
4. Victoria Vikes
5. York Lions

Thursday, Nov. 1
Round-Robin 1: Guelph 1, UBC 0
Round-Robin 2: Toronto 2, Victoria 1
Round-Robin 3: Guelph 3, York 0
Round-Robin 4: Victoria 2, UBC 1

Friday, Nov. 2
Round-Robin 5: Toronto 2, Guelph 2
Round-Robin 6: Victoria 4, York 0
Round-Robin 7: UBC 2, Toronto 1

Saturday, Nov. 3
Round-Robin 8: Toronto 3, York 1
Round-Robin 9: Guelph 2, Victoria 1
Round-Robin 10: UBC 1, York 0

Sunday, Nov. 4
Bronze medal: Victoria 3, UBC 1
Championship final: Toronto 1, Guelph 0

Final Standings
1. Toronto Varsity Blues
2. Guelph Gryphons
3. Victoria Vikes
4. UBC Thunderbirds
5. York Lions

- CIS -
Championship web site: www.cisport.ca/e/championships/w_fieldhockey/2007