TORONTO - The TMU Bold dropped a close 3-2 contest against the Concordia Stingers in front of a raucous crowd on Thursday night at the university's first Homecoming event since 2019 at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.   

 "The atmosphere in the building today was second-to-none, it was absolutely unreal. What a thrill," said Bold head coach Lisa Haley. "We're entering a new era here with the TMU Bold and the bar has been set pretty high."
 
The Bold came out the gates firing against the defending U SPORTS champions. TMU's hard work eventually paid off as it led to the opening goal from forward Erika Crouse. 

Midway through the first period, Crouse roofed a tough backhand shot above the left shoulder of the Stingers' netminder Alice Philbert giving the blue and gold a 1-0 lead through the end of the first frame. 

"I blacked out a little a bit when I scored, but all I remember was that someone made a great play coming in and I shot the puck as quick as I could," said Crouse when asked about her goal. 

The home crowd erupted with delight following the Bold goal as many fans jumped out of their seats in celebration. 

"We've never had a crowd like that before and I felt like they were vibing us. It's also really nice to have such a large crowd supporting women's sports as well," said Crouse.

Unfortunately for the Bold, the Stingers answered back early into the second. A shot from forward Zoé Thibault squeaked past TMU goaltender Jayden Lawson to tie the game at one a piece.  

Another damper was put on the crowd soon after as Concordia forward Rosaile Bégin-Cyr broke the tie with 11:50 left in the period. The Stingers then doubled their lead three minutes later with a goal from forward Courtney Rice.  

Nevertheless, the Bold didn't back down as forward Britni Yammine got the packed crowd back into the game with a bar-down snipe to cut the lead in half. 

"I said to one of my teammates on the bench in the second period that I was going to score a goal and I went back out there a few shifts later and scored," said rookie forward Britni Yammine. "I had friends and family out in the stands, so this was a very memorable moment for me." 

The atmosphere at the MAC was filled with a buzz throughout the third, as the Bold were in reaching distance of tying the game. However, unfortunately, the team was unable to close the defending champions' lead.  

"We fought and gave the effort every step of the way. That's where you want to be against a quality opponent like that," said Haley. 

The Bold look to their next exhibition game next Saturday at the MAC against the St. Francis Xavier X-Women.