Women's Field Hockey | 10/1/2017 7:13:00 PM

TORONTO -- Constanza Martinez-Ramirez, a native of Chile, scored the game-winning goal as the McGill University women's field hockey team rallied for a stunning 4-3 victory to earn their first ever conquest over the Toronto Varsity Blues, Sunday, at U of T's Back Campus field.

The victory snapped an 0-71-3 winless streak against Toronto, a perennial league contender looking for their fourth consecutive OUA championship. U of T has won 32 OUA titles in 46 years since the league was formed in 1971.

Martinez-Ramirez, a 27-year-old forward and a first-year doctorate student in pathology, broke a 3-3 deadlock by scoring off a corner in the 68th minute of play.

The Varsity Blues had jumped to an early 2-0 lead thanks to goals by Megan Johansen and Anna Costanzo in the fifth and seventh minutes, respectively. But McGill sophomore Ayaka Kimata of West Vancouver, B.C., and Tania Iskandar, a management junior from Greenwich, Conn., replied in the 13th and 19th minutes, both off of corners, to tie the game at 2-2 heading into halftime.

Breeshey Roskams-Hieter, a biology senior from Vancouver, put the Martlets ahead 3-2 with a goal from open play in the 53rd minute. Johansen evened things up 13 minutes later but Martinez-Ramirez quickly restored McGill's lead to preserve the historic victory.

Goalkeeper Olivia Lockbaum, a psychology sophomore from Worcester, Mass., earned the win for McGill. Elizabeth O'Hara started in goal for Toronto while Sara Fredo played the second half and took the loss. Both Varsity Blues 'keepers allowed two goals.

Earlier in the day, McGill fell 6-1 to Queen's. Emilia Dunkerley, a sophomore from England, scored the Martlets' lone goal. McGill opened weekend play with a 4-3 win over Waterloo on Saturday (Sept. 30). Martinez-Ramirez netted two goals in that contest, with singles going to junior Kasey Boyle of Victoria and Roskams-Hieter.

With three games remaining before playoffs, the Martlets improved to 3-6-0 in OUA play, their highest regular season win total since 2011, when they posted a 5-6-1 record. McGill has moved into sole possession of third place, three points ahead of Toronto (2-3-2), which holds two games in hand. The McGill women will close out their regular season schedule next weekend in Toronto, where they will face division-leading York (7-0) and second-place Guelph (3-1-2) on Oct. 14, followed by a rematch against Toronto on Oct. 15. Before they cross paths, the fifth-place Varsity Blues host last-place Waterloo (1-4-1) and sixth-place Queen's (2-4-2) on Oct. 14.

All eight teams qualify for post-season play, with the division leader meeting McMaster, the eighth-place team that plays an independent schedule, in the quarter-finals, Second plays seventh, third plays sixth and fourth meets fifth.

LINK TO OUA BOXSCORE


2017 OUA WOMEN'S FIELD HOCKEY STANDINGS
(12-game schedule; updated after games on Oc.1)
 

TEAM	GP	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STRK	PTS
York	7	7	0	0	1.000	32	4	Won 7	21
Guelph	6	3	1	2	0.667	13	4	Won 1	11
Western	7	3	3	1	0.500	9	13	Lost 2	10
McGill	9	3	6	0	0.333	17	37	Won 1	9
Toronto	7	2	3	2	0.429	14	13	Lost 2	8
Queen's	8	2	4	2	0.375	15	12	Lost 1	8
Waterloo	6	1	4	1	0.250	9	26	Lost 1	4
*McMaster	na	na	na	na	na	na	na	na	na

*qualifies as the eighth-place team but plays an independant schedule