HAMILTON, Ont. (September 25, 2010) – Sarah Pathak of Toronto scored with five minutes remaining to help the No. 8 Queen's Gaels defeat the No. 7 McMaster Marauders 15-14 in Ontario University Athletics (OUA) women's rugby on Saturday.

The win moves Queen's into sole possession of first place in the OUA Russell Division at 3-0 and drops McMaster to second place at 2-1. Guelph is the only other 3-0 team in the OUA holding a two point advantage on Waterloo in the OUA Shiels Division.

McMaster held a 14-10 advantage heading into the final half, but Queen's defense held the Marauders at bay until Pathak was able to score.

“Our defense was spectacular today,” said Queen's head coach Beth Barz. “We caused a lot of turnovers which was key to the victory.”

Jocelyn Poirier of Carp, Ont. put the Gaels on the board first while Karlye Wong of Ottawa added her third try of the season just before the half.

Allison Morris of Stoney Cree, Ont., and Hannah Braithwaite of Kingston, Ont., recorded tries for McMaster while Rebecca Delaney of Caledon, Ont., registered a convert.

The win marked the first time the Gaels had defeated McMaster in five meetings dating back to October 4 2003. In that game, Queen's dumped the Marauders 33-0.

Queen's will battle Trent University next Friday in Peterborough, Ont. (7:30pm) before returning home to close the regular season against Toronto on October 8.