TORONTO – A 71st minute strike from Hannah Chown put an end to the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women's soccer team's championship aspirations on Saturday as the University of Toronto (U of T) Varsity Blues earned a dramatic 1-0 win. 

Chown was able to break through for the Varsity Blues from a free kick to silence the home crowd and advance her side to the next round of the OUA Playoffs. 

"The message was no set pieces, no silly fouls," said interim Head Coach of the Bold John Yacou following the defeat. 

"That ended up being our achilles heel."

The Varsity Blues were the aggressor from the very early stages of Saturday's opening half, dominating the Bold on set pieces to snatch the life out of Downsview Park. 

U of T's Hannah Anderson forced TMU's Elisa Paolucci into making a diving stop to her left post 10 minutes into her playoff debut with the Bold to quickly apply the pressure on the home side. 

Opting to control defensive possession in the half, the Bold struggled to pierce through U ofT's midfield and activate leading scorer Aaliyah Lully in the attack. 

Defender Kennedy Pryce worked a pair of explosive runs along the sidelines to try and find Lully in front of the visitors' goal but came out of the scoreless half unsuccessful in her efforts. 

Yacou praised the efforts of Pryce following the game, who despite flickering out to injury later in the match, proved integral to the Bold's plans in attack.

"Every game she'll give you that run in and threaten the back line," said Yacou. 

The Varsity Blues sent another warning shot the Bold's way in the 51st minute via a curling shot from Hannah Harkin outside the penalty box. The fourth-year's attempt at goal ricocheted off the crossbar and drifted out of play, queuing a collective sigh from the home crowd as the Varsity Blues moved a couple inches closer to breaking the deadlock. 

U of T's Hannah Chown finally pulled the visitors ahead in the 74th minute with an impressive free kick from 30 feet out to push the Bold to the brink of elimination. The Varsity Blues' leading goal scorer bulged her shot into the top right corner in dramatic fashion to all but secure her team a date with the Ottawa Gee Gee's on Wednesday. 

In a final attempt at leveling the score, Yacou shuffled his lineup to return Lully onto the pitch and add Vanessa Pianta and Isabella Langeli to provide a spark in the midfield. His efforts would prove to be unsuccessful, signified from the final whistle to put a bitter end to the Bold's impressive fall. 

The Bold now turn the page to 2025 following a historic year that matched the program's all-time single season win record. The valuable experience is something that excites Yacou, who believes the program is trending in the right direction with another year of experience under his players' belt. 

"I couldn't ask for more. They were committed from the beginning and gave everything."

"It's a tough way to end the season but [I'm] very proud of the players," said Yacou.