OUA Women's Rugby Roundup (Oct. 9)
October 6, 2017
Brock 24 York 34
The York University Lions women's rugby team advanced to the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) semifinals for the first time in program history on Friday night with a 34-24 victory over the Brock Badgers in their conference quarter-final game.
The game was a back-and-forth affair in which the Lions finally exploded for three straight tries in the second half to pull ahead en route to the victory. After playing in 10 quarter-final matches since 1994, including in each of the last five years, the Lions finally got over the hump and will make their first semifinal appearance next weekend.
The Lions had five players score a try in the game, with Cheyenne Legerton doing so twice, and Natasha Naismith kicked a pair of conversions.
Tobi Owotomo opened the scoring in the seventh minute, but the Badgers responded nine minutes later with a try by rookie Taylour Hurd. The sequence repeated itself again before the end of the first half when Legerton scored a try that was followed by Kaylah Moehling only minutes later. Both teams kicked successful conversions and the game was tied 12-12 at the half.
The two teams fought for field position to start the second half until the Lions started taking control after a few minutes. They were finally rewarded in the 53rd minute on a try by Catherine Belanger, and the Lions controlled play for most of the next 12 minutes and tacked on tries by Megan Pakulis and Legerton again to put the game out of reach.
One more try by Sasha Seymour and one each by Lauren Wilks and Niamh Haughey rounded out the scoring.
The Lions will now face the defending OUA champion and undefeated Guelph Gryphons in the OUA semis next Saturday in Guelph, with a spot in the conference final on the line. With Friday's win over the Badgers, the Lions have also secured their spot in the top division for next year.
Source: yorkulions.ca
Trent 0 Queen’s 109
KINGSTON, Ont. (October 6, 2017) – The No.8 Queen's Gaels (2-2) squared off against the Trent Excalibur (3-1) in the opening quarterfinal round of the OUA playoffs on Friday night in Kingston. The Gaels finished as the third seed in the Shiels division and took on the second-seeded Russel division Excalibur coming away with a 109-0 shutout win.
GAME FLOW
The Gaels proved to be much stronger and faster than the Excalibur, breaking tackles and beating defenders early and often. Sophie de Goede (Victoria) was the first to score, followed soon by Nadia Popov (Newmarket, Ont.).The Gaels also showed off their impressive defence, not allowing Trent to enter their zone for most of the opening half while controlling the majority of possession.
Mid-way through the first half, de Goede managed to score back to back tries, forcing her way past the Excalibur defence, who could not keep her down.
In the final minutes of the opening half, de Goede punched in her fourth try of the game, as the Gaels managed to win a scrum near the Trent zone decisively. Not to be out-done, Popov outran the entire Excalibur defence again, to put up another try of her own.
Trent was finally able to push the ball deep into the Gaels end as the final seconds ticked off the first half. Queen's held their ground defensively though and managed to keep the Excalibur off the scoreboard.
The Gaels started slowly in the second half, but a nice goal-line run by Lydia Salgo (Ottawa) put the Gaels on the board again.
Even with a huge lead, the Gaels did not slow down. Emma Frey (Uxbridge, Ont), Jordi Di Nardo(Toronto), Molly Labenski (Oakville) each managed to get in the end-zone early in the second half.
The Gaels cruised their way to an easy 109-0 shutout victory and advance to the OUA semi-final where they will take on the McMaster Marauders in Hamilton.
BY THE NUMBERS
109 - Points for Queen's, the most scored in team history topping the 106 against Toronto in 2015
4 - Tries for Sophie de Goede, tying the amount she scored in the OUA regular season
14 - Straight wins for Queen's over Trent
12 - Gaels scored tries on the night
46 - Points combined from Popov and de Goede
FINAL SAY
"We have always had the potential to put up big numbers. Tonight we executed in almost all aspects of the game so not surprised that we were able to score." - Head coach Dan Valley
UP NEXT
The Gaels now advance to the OUA semifinal where they will take on the McMaster Marauders in Hamilton next weekend.
Source: gogaelsgo.com
Other Scores
Waterloo 5 Laurier 37
October 7, 2017
Toronto 10 Western 50
LONDON, Ont. - Nikki Case dominated the pitch as she scored four tries to help lead the Western Mustangs to a 50-10 victory over the Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday afternoon at
"We were really trying to focus on our defence and making smart decisions with the ball, and I think we accomplished that here today," said Mustangs' head coach John Weller. "The first half was a great battle; Toronto put up a strong fight, but I think our skill and determination really shined through in the second half and got us the win."
With the win, the Mustangs will now advance to the OUA consolation semifinals and will host the Trent Excalibur next weekend at Alumni Field, while Toronto will play for ninth place against the Waterloo Warriors.
Case, who has been a powerhouse on both sides of the ball this season, not only put up a team-high four tries on the day, but made multiple runs which put the team in prime scoring position.
"She's outstanding. She's been such a key player for us for the past four years and she's used to having the responsibility of having to put the team on her back sometimes. Today, she did just that," said Weller.
"The inside ball was open for me all game. Finding those gaps in the defence is so critical and I was able to find a few today and put some points up," said Case, describing how she picked up her four tries on Saturday. "The support out there from everyone was so important. It's great to have individual breaks, but communication between everyone out there is crucial to picking up those points."
The Mustangs started the game with purpose and urgency on the offensive side of the ball, as they controlled the play for the majority of the half. Case put the purple and white on the board with a huge run downfield, breaking tackles, and scoring the first try of the game to earn the team the early 5-0 lead. Toronto would respond with a try of their own not long after, but the Mustangs would punch in one more in the half to give them a 10-5 advantage after 40 minutes.
Case picked up right where she left off in the first half, breaking through the defence once again and making a huge run, with Landon Thompson finishing the run off with a try to extend the Mustang lead just two minutes into the second half. Case would put in three more tries throughout the half to allow Western to cruise to an eventual 50-10 victory.
"I felt as if we were able to take advantage of the opportunities we were given, and that's a big deal for us at this point of the season," said Weller. "Hopefully we'll be able to carry that over to the next match."
"It was a big win for us. I think our team finally came together as a unit; we have a lot of individual talent on our team, but I think we finally got together and played off of each other," said Case. "If we want to keep winning, we'll have to keep up that continuity."
The Mustangs will be back in action next Saturday, October 14, where they will take on the Trent Excalibur. Check back to westernmustangs.ca later this week when full details for the second round of the OUA playoffs are announced.
Source: westernmustangs.ca