GUELPH, Ont. (October 20, 2018) – The No.5 Queen's women's rugby team suffered a 39-14 loss to the No.4 Guelph Gryphons in the OUA Championship game.
 
It marks the second consecutive season where the Gaels fell to the Gryphons in the championship game.
 
GAME FLOW
The Gryphons controlled the pace of play early and capitalized with the opening score as Kylie Shaughnessy put down the initial try in the 10^th minute. With the score, the Gryphons jumped out to a 5-0 lead.
 
The Gaels made three runs at the Gryphons defence however were stopped each time. This set up Alexandra Everett who sprinted down the right sideline for the try. Julia Schell converted to bring the Gryphons lead to 12-0. Everett led the OUA in trys this season and showcased her scoring ability in the biggest game of the OUA season.
 
Just four minutes later, Schell put more points on the board as she swept down the right sidelines to bring the Gryphons lead up to 17-0. The Gaels would head into the halftime break scoreless but with another 40 minutes remaining there was still plenty of time for a comeback.
 
However, the Gryphons refused to let their foot off the gas pedal coming out of the break as they scored back-to-back trys in the 42^nd and 45^th minute.
 
Down 29-0 the Gaels finally put up their first points of the afternoon as OUA All-Star Nadia Popov scored a try. OUA MVP Sophie de Goede nailed the conversion to make the game 29-7.
 
However, the Gaels weren't able to keep the momentum rolling as the Gryphons added another pair of scores to bring their lead to 39-7.
 
Sophie de Goede tacked on a late try in the 76^th minute as the Gaels finished with their second consecutive OUA silver medal.
 
INJURY SCARE
Early in the first half, Sophie de Goede went down and was forced to leave the game with what was a considerable cut on her head.
 
However, after missing a portion of the match she returned and managed to score a try in the dying minutes. Fortunately for the Gaels her injury doesn't seem to be serious as they'll need her to be at her peak during in two weeks as the Gaels compete in the U SPORTS National Championship.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
39 – The Gaels dropped both games this year to the Gryphons and allowed 39 points in both matches.
4 – Despite the loss the Gaels can still look forward to their fourth U SPORTS National Championship since they won the national title in 2013.
 
UP NEXT
Starting on Thursday November 1, the Gaels will participate in the 2018 U SPORTS Women's Rugby National Championship. The tournament is being held in Wolfville, Nova Scotia and is hosted by Acadia University.