Lauren Cardwell and her University of Toronto hockey team have lost to University of Victoria in the USport Canadian Championship.

Victoria edged Toronto 2-1 in the best-of-three series at Back Campus Fields to deny them regional and national bragging rights.

No. 1 seeds Toronto won the series opener on penalties to sit on the verge of clinching the title, but the No. 2 seeds bounced back to win the second game 1-0 before going on to seal a 3-0 victory in the decider.

“The weekend brought many highs and lows but it was a very good experience to be a part of, especially as a rookie in my first year,” Cardwell told The Royal Gazette.

“The championship ended up consisting of a full three days with Toronto Varsity Blues winning the first day in a penalty shootout, but unfortunately Victoria Vikes took days two and three with in-game goals.

“Toronto fought until the end and played every game possible in the 2023 season and will hopefully be back again fighting for the championship next year.

“Next year I can only imagine the team will be fighting with the same determination and goals, which we came so close this year to achieving, but unfortunately we were just a little short of reaching.”

Toronto secured their place in the national championship after clinching a 32nd Ontario University Athletic Championship title last month.

Bermudian midfielder Cardwell, who is undertaking a course in Kenesiology at the University of Toronto, was among six new faces in head coach Cassius Mendonca’s team this season and has adapted well to this level since her arrival.

The 18-year-old also represented the island’s national women’s hockey team at this summer’s Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.