Another Olivia Brown hat-trick in exciting Guelph Soccer Day double-header
The last double-header of the 2025 season offered our fans an amazing day of football, in extreme heat, and with Guelph Soccer Day festivities going on next door.
2 matches, 10 goals, lots of drama, and another incredible performance from Olivia Brown - who bagged another hat-trick and extender her lead at the top of the league’s best goalscorers, with 17 goals in 15 matches played. She now has 3 more goals than Simcoe County’s Ally Rowe.
In the first game of the day, our men’s team faced North Mississauga SC, and, with a gap starting to form between us and the top 3 teams in the Championship division, the 3 points were of the utmost importance. Guelph United played a strong game, controlling the midfield and creating plenty of opportunities to score - 2 of them being converted by Milan Beader and Gray Yates. But the defensive mistakes that plagued most of our season reared their head again - our guests tying the score both times after soft goals conceded by our team. The second half saw GUFC dominate, but being unable to get the game winning goal. We gain one point that feels like a loss, as it increases the distance between our team and the 3rd place that might bring us back to the top tier division of League1 Ontario.
Guelph United (men) - North Mississauga SC 2-2 (2-2)
Goals: Beader (‘15), Yates (‘34 - pen) / Kapustynski (‘20), Zastavnyy (‘39)
Guelph United: Findlay - Clack (‘58 Benjamin), Fernandez, Harrop (‘66 Bandula), Andoga (‘66 Ostrun) - Sears, Alexa (‘70 Fairbanks), Yates - Oakley, Beader (‘66 Borges), Koenig-Parris (‘58 Sargsyan).
In the second match, our women’s team played their best game of the season against one of the top 4 teams in the league, Vaughan Azzurri. An entertaining, back and forth encounter, that proved once again that Olivia Brown is the best player in the league. Her first goal was a perfect example of the great ball control that left her one on one with the goalie, and of her elite finishing skills. After Vaughan scored twice, it was Brown’s turn again to score two more times, and bring our team the lead. A dramatic last few minutes ended with Zoë Rowe coolly finishing an injury time counter that saw our goalkeeper, Hunter Jones, get an assist. It was a complete team performance, and an impressive win that sees us solidify the 5th place in the L1O Premier Division, with 3 games left in the season.
Guelph United (women) - Vaughan Azzurri 4-2 (1-1)
Goals: Brown (‘9, ‘55, ‘79), Rowe (‘90) / Mastracci (‘38, ‘46).
Guelph United: Jones - Knafelc, Schaffer, Starcevic, Warren - Ward, Stavropoulos (‘66 Morgan), Hipkin (‘84 Sowers) - Rizakos (‘90+5 Thomson), Brown (‘90+4 Tomac), Rowe (‘90+1 Ekunwe) .