In a battle of conference champions, the Toronto Varsity Blues used a lightning-quick start to secure a 2-0 victory over the Cape Breton Capers in the fifth-place match of the 2025 U SPORTS Women’s Soccer Championship on Saturday.
The OUA champion Varsity Blues (14-3-1, 9-2-1 OUA) needed less than seven minutes to establish their dominance, scoring twice in the early stages to effectively seal the game. Cape Breton, the AUS champion, finishes its season with an 11-4-3 record (7-2-3 AUS).
Toronto’s leading scorer, Anne Yeomans, opened the scoring in the 4th minute, finishing a play set up by Hannah Chown for her first goal of the tournament. Before the Capers could regroup, the Blues doubled their lead just over two minutes later when Maddy Mah found the back of the net for an unassisted tally.
From there, the Blues locked the game down defensively. Goalkeeper Maria Godoy-Atrash was flawless in the Toronto net, turning aside all five shots she faced to record the clean sheet. The Blues’ defence limited the Capers to mostly low-percentage chances despite an 8-5 edge in total shots for Cape Breton.
Capers midfielder Grace Hannaford was the most dangerous player for her side, registering three of her team’s five shots on goal, but she was repeatedly denied by Godoy-Atrash.
The second half was a physical, midfield battle with neither team able to break through. Cape Breton’s Makenna Bowser and Toronto’s Ula Curley were shown yellow cards in the 65th and 68th minutes, respectively.
The Capers best chance to get on the board came late in the game, but a 90th-minute shot from Hannaford was once again swallowed up by Godoy-Atrash to preserve the shutout.
The U SPORTS Women’s Soccer Championship concludes Sunday at Ron Joyce Stadium. The bronze medal match between the Trinity Western Spartans and Laval Rouge et Or is set for 1:30 p.m., followed by the national championship final between the Montreal Carabins and UBC Thunderbirds at 5:00 p.m.