KINGSTON, Ont. (October 18, 2011) – The Queen's Gaels and Trent Excalibur met in OUA quarter-final playoff action Saturday at Tindall Field in Kingston Ontario. The two teams put forth a valiant effort, representing their schools in a hard-fought battle between two rival and well-matched squads.
With rain pouring down on Tindall field, the Excalibur and Gaels dug in and prepared for a long day in tough conditions.
The Gaels scored first on a try from
Natalie Poirier of Ottawa and took a 7-0 lead after a successful conversion by
Bronwyn Corrigan of Waterloo, Ont.
The Excalibur battled back with a try of their own from Lauren Wizowski of Lindsay, Ont. Celeigh Harris of Lakefield, Ont. squaring the contest at 7-7 after a successful conversion.
With no points scored in the second half, the two teams went into overtime play.
The first half of overtime saw no points gained by either team, but late in the second half of overtime it would be the Excalibur women to strike first. Trent took the lead on a Harris penalty conversion to put the Excalibur up 10-7.
With time running out,
Kayla Roote of Peterborough, Ont. scored a try with one minute left in overtime play. A successful conversion by Corrigan put the final score at 14-10 for Queen's.
The Gaels will travel to Guelph next weekend to play against the Gryphons in a 1pm semifinal match on Saturday. Trent University will play host to this year's CIS women's rugby Championship November 3-6 and the Excalibur advance to the nationals and will be joined by the OUA champion in contesting for the 2011 national championship.
Post script - Queen's Athletics and Recreation extends a sincere apology for the previously posted article. This contest was a hard-fought battle between two very skilled teams; the article posted was an unfair account of the game which did not accurately reflect the quality of play and the healthy rivalry between the Excalibur and Gaels rugby squads. The posting was an unfortunate administrative error and in no way reflects the opinion of the Queen's Rugby program, Queen's Athletics and Queen's University towards Trent University or the Excalibur Rugby program, athletes and coaches. We would like to congratulate the Excalibur on a successful season and wish the team and Athletic Department much success at the 2011 National Championships hosted in Peterborough November 3-6, 2011.
