In a battle between two undefeated teams, Ottawa trumped Concordia 30-7
With conference championship aspirations on the line, the Concordia Stingers Women’s rugby team pitted their undefeated 4-0 record against the seventh-ranked team in the country, the Ottawa Gee Gee’s, early Sunday afternoon at Loyola.
Entering the game as the sixth ranked team in the nation, the Stingers had high hopes coming into the matchup. A veteran team captained by fourth-year flanker Hughanna Gaw, the Stingers uncharacteristically stumbled out of the gate in the early going.
“Ottawa came out on fire, and we came out a little slow,” said Gaw after the game.
The imposing Gee Gees dominated possession throughout the first half, opening the scoring with a successful penalty kick conversation that put them up 3-0. Despite the lopsided time on attack differential, Concordia’s offense was sparked by a big run from speedy sophomore center Alexandra Tessier, giving the Stingers a 7-3 lead.
However, the lead was short-lived. Costly turnovers were the story of the day for the stingers, as Ottawa capitalized and subsequently jumped ahead to a 15-7 lead on a goal-line score from Gee Gee’s fourth year scrumhalf Erin Van Gulik.
The Gee Gee’s continued to roll in the second half, overwhelming the Stingers as they dictated possession and forced key turnovers. The Stingers’ untimely giveaways deep in their zone set up easy scores for Ottawa as the battle of the undefeated ended in a 30-7 rout for the visiting side.
“This is the best I’ve seen this team play,” said Jen Boyd, the Gee Gee’s second-year head coach.
When asked if the previously undefeated Stingers squad had underestimated this weeks competition, veteran head coach Graeme McGravie responded emphatically against the notion.
“No definitely not, we know how good they are. They’ve beaten some pretty good teams. We knew exactly what to expect,” said McGravie.
After a lack of intensity in this week’s poor showing, Coach McGravie admired the way Ottawa came out ready to play.
“We had a real lack of urgency today and a lack of intensity, [the Gee Gee’s] were probably foaming at the mouth today when they got on the bus, and we weren’t,” said McGravie.
Despite his discontent with his team’s lackluster performance, Coach McGravie remained confident when thinking about the prospects of the team’s future this season.
“[We’re] Going to go over film and going to go over what we need to do as coaches, and we’re going to bounce back fine next week,” said McGravie.
Next up on the docket, the Stingers look to right the ship and get their championship pursuit back on track as they host the Laval Rouge et Or Sunday, Oct. 5, at 1 p.m. at the Loyola Campus.
