In a game with very little between its two teams, it seemed inevitable that a moment or two would make the difference and break the hearts of either the Marauders or Gee-Gees, as they battled for a spot in the OUA final Friday.

Ultimately, it proved to be the Marauders who came out on the losing end of that scenario, with Grace Grafham's final penalty kick rocketing off the post to seal an Ottawa win on spot kicks, with the Gee-Gees advancing 3-2 from the spot after a 1-1 deadlock through 120 minutes of the OUA semifinal.

It was a cruel conclusion to the afternoon for a McMaster side that gave as good as it got Friday, playing the top seed in the OUA East to a virtual dead heat at Western's Mustang Field.

With the result, the Gee-Gees advance to the OUA final, while the Marauders will return to London Sunday for an important bronze medal showdown at 11:00 a.m.

Ottawa's advance as a team with a guaranteed berth into the U SPORTS Championship as tournament hosts ensures that the OUA bronze medalist will earn a spot into the national tournament.

McMaster will face the second-seeded team in the OUA East, the Queen's Gaels, in that morning encounter.

Jade Smith scored the lone goal of the game for the Marauders, with Mikayla Morton finding the back of the net for the Gee-Gees at the other end of the pitch.

A cagey opening half between two teams unfamiliar with one another resulted in very few clear-cut chances for either side, and they entered the halftime break without much to show for 45 minutes on the pitch.

That changed in the 62nd minute, when Morton put the finishing touch on an Ottawa break to open the scoring and send the match to an entirely new gear.

With McMaster beginning to press up the pitch and apply pressure to Ottawa's on-ball players deep inside its half, the Marauders created a mistake and were able to capitalize to equalize seven minutes after the game's opening goal.

A loose pass along the Gee-Gees back line fell to the onrushing Smith, who dutifully fired low and past the goalkeeper for 1-1, and spurred her team ever forward.

From there, McMaster was in the ascendancy, but was unable to fashion another goal as the minutes ticked off regulation and then added time, and the Marauders were forced to settle for the luck of the penalty draw.

The early advantage went to Ottawa on the kicks, as McMaster missed their first two. But after a pair of saves by Juliana Hifawi, the duo of Talia Merino-Sierra and Hannah Chau-Stacey brought the Marauders level.

But, with the fifth set of kicks, the Gee-Gees found their edge, as Lauren Da Luz beat Hifawi and watched with her teammates as Grafham's side-footed effort clattered against the post and harmlessly back into the box.

NEXT UP: The Marauders meet the Queen's Gaels in the OUA bronze medal match on Sunday, November 4. That 11:00 a.m. kickoff will be webcast live on OUA.tv.