(12/10/24) - St. Catharines, ON. Adding to their almost perfect season, the Queen's Men's Rugby team is victorious against the Brock Badgers, nailing in the final score of 57-12 for their last match of the regular season. The boys dominated the field solidifying their position going into the upcoming playoffs. The Gaels now sit at second in OUA standings, but, with this win added to their record, they grant themselves the possibility to enter the post-season tied for first in OUA standings if the Western Mustangs fails to conquer the UofT Varsity Blues in their final game of the season on October 19th.
The Gaels scored a total of nine tries and six conversion kicks (accredited to Gaels no. 10
Marcus D'Acre (Economics)) during the match, offensively counteracting the total of two tries and one conversion kick accumulated by the Badgers throughout the match.
The Gaels begin their lead quickly into the beginning of the first half with a try scored by no. 1 Dan Svoboda (Kinesiology), in the eighth minute, with D'Acre completing the conversion, making the score 7-0. The Badgers are quick to answer in the 12th minute, making the score 7-5.
The first half comes to an end with the Gaels leading 19-5, with tries scores by no. 11
Owen Lee (Commerce), and no. 13
Trekker James (Psychology) in the 21st and 23rd minutes, and a conversion kick by D'Arce to seal the deal for the Gaels to go into the second with confidence.
The second half was an offensive spectacle with the Gaels adding six tries to the scoreboard, and four conversions for a total of 38 points over the Badgers. The Gaels displayed an excellent effort of attack and control on the pitch throughout the match, keeping the Badgers from catching up to their offensive successes.
Quickly opening up the second half, no. Connor Grittens (Commerce) scores a try with a 10 yard run into the in-goal area within the first two minutes being back on the pitch, and later scores another in the 63rd. Gritten's is not the only Gael to score multiple tries for the team. No. 7 Matt Carroll (Arts and Sciences) runs the ball in to score twice as well in the 52nd and 78th minutes of the match, the latter in an impressive 40-yard breakaway.
Gritten's and Carroll are not alone in the scoring effort in the second, as Gaels captain no. 12
Eric Godden (Applied Sciences) scores the boys a try in the 57th minute to boost the score to 38-5 on a 16 yard run. To finish off the match, no. 16
Oliver Davis (Fine Arts) scores the final try of the game, solidifying the Gaels victory to a 57-12 victory.
The Gaels, finishing their regular season with a four game win-streak, should find momentum and strength from their successful regular season going into the playoffs. With this victory in their back pockets, the Gaels sit at a 5-1 record in the OUA standings. Keep an eye out for the Gaels as they look to make their presence known in the playoffs.
