Day 4 Recap: York Lions capture first-ever national university women’s field hockey title

The York Lions made history Sunday, winning their first-ever national university women’s field hockey championship with a 1-0 victory over the Victoria Vikes in the gold medal match at the 2025 Field Hockey Canada U SPORTS Invitational Championship.

Juliet Redelaar scored the game’s lone goal in the 58th minute, sealing the breakthrough for York after years of near misses on the national stage. The decisive play came when Gates McAllister fired the ball into the circle, Elise Piper redirected it to Redelaar, who finished cleanly past the Vikes goalkeeper to spark a wave of celebration on the Lions’ sideline.

The win ended Victoria’s six-year championship run and marked a symbolic shift in Canadian university field hockey, which had been dominated in recent years by Canada West programs.Goalkeepers on both sides were outstanding in a tightly contested final that followed a scoreless draw between the same two teams earlier in the tournament. Captain Abby Thompson was the first to raise the McCrae Cup, as the Lions celebrated the program’s first national title in Charlottetown.

Bronze Medal Match

In the earlier bronze medal match, the hometown UPEI Panthers delighted the Charlottetown crowd with a 2-0 win over the Dalhousie Tigers.

Atlantic MVP and All-Canadian Kayla Batchilder scored both goals late in regulation, breaking open what had been a tense, scoreless battle. The Panthers had drawn 1-1 with Dalhousie earlier in the week and once again relied on their depth and composure under pressure.

With 17 players from Prince Edward Island on the roster, the Panthers’ bronze-medal moment was a celebration shared with the home crowd.

Batchilder, goalkeeper Bria Matthews, and teammates Livi Lawlor, Miah Lawlor, Carly Acorn and Katie-Grace Noye were among UPEI’s standouts. Dalhousie’s Sanne Meijer van Derloensloot, Molly Doyle and Abby Henn anchored another strong effort for the Tigers, who battled throughout the weekend.

UPEI’s bronze capped off a memorable week of competition, while York’s historic gold signaled a new chapter for the Lions — national champions at last.