WATERLOO, Ont. - The Warriors fell 4-1 to the Guelph Gryphons Wednesday night in the first round of the OUA Playoffs.
The Warriors took the upper hand early when Adam Shaikh (Ajax, ONT/J Clarke Richardson Collegiate) scored perhaps the goal of the season, taking a long cross then beating the last defender with a slick inside-out move before finishing top bins with the left foot.
The Gryphons poured on the pressure, looking to equalize. They had 11 shots in the first half alone. Lorin Alexander Lopez was sensational in goal, keeping the Waterloo ahead despite the Guelph onslaught.
Lopez kept a clean sheet through 45 minutes, but the Gryphons broke through in added time, as Ethan Fraser's shot deflected off a Warrior's foot and into the top half of the net. The teams were tied 1-1 at half.
Guelph added to the lead seven minutes into the half, as Ethan Fraser sent a free kick low and slow into the box. His pass missed everybody, including Lopez, who was well-prepared for a deflection that never came and could only watch as the ball slid past him.
The teams traded chances for most of the second half, but the Warriors weren't able to create any chances worthy of drawing even. Then Ambrose Tinmouth took over.
The Gryphons leading scorer added the insurance goal in the 66th minute with a nice cut to the middle that he finished with finesse into the top right corner. He put the game away with a screamer of a free kick in the 89th.
The Gryphons will move on to face the York Lions in the OUA quarterfinal on Saturday.
The Warriors see their season come to an end one round earlier than it did last season. This year, however, marks the second straight season the Warriors have hosted a playoff game, a feat they hadn't accomplished in two decades prior. While not the way Jon Morgan and his squad wanted to see their campaign end, they can be proud of the enduring progress this program has made in recent years.
