SENECA WINS OCAA BRONZE MEDAL IN WOMEN'S RUGBY

KINGSTON, Ont. - The St. Lawrence Vikings women's rugby team hosted the Seneca Sting in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) bronze medal match on Saturday at Nixon Field in Queen's University. The Vikings came out on the losing end of a 17-7 decision.

St. Lawrence qualified for the game after defeating Conestoga in a crossover match and then losing to Humber. The Vikings faced an unfamiliar opponent from the OCAA West Division in Seneca, winners of its crossover match against Loyalist, then losers to Algonquin in the semifinals.

The Vikings began the match very strong, pushing the Sting right back to their own goal line on two occasions. Seneca would stand strong, and keep St. Lawrence from scoring a try. About half way through the first half, Seneca appeared to score a try on a long sprint from one of their wingers, but the play was called back due to an obstruction penalty by the Sting. The Vikings did not let the near try by the Sting affect their game, and maintained their pressure to score. Once again the Seneca defence held St. Lawrence back, resulting in a scoreless half.

Looking to finally apply offensive pressure, the Sting came out in the second half utilizing the extra wide field, which resulted in bursts of speed from their wingers. Seneca opened the scoring five minutes into the half to go up 7-0, with Jennifer Wedlock (Richmond Hill) scoring the try and conversion. From there it was the Vikings turn to react defensively, as the Sting maintained their offensive pressure throughout the half resulting in two tries being scored, and a 17-0 lead.

After a lengthy injury timeout, the Vikings resumed the game with fresh legs and inspiration to bring the game back within reach. St. Lawrence resumed playing like they had been in the first half, and were finally rewarded for the efforts with Juletta Cull (Douglas) scoring a try, and Christine Vandertoorn (Brighton) kicking the conversion. That would be as close as St. Lawrence would get, resulting in a 17-7 win for Seneca College.

St. Lawrence head coach Gary Peacock was very proud of his team's effort, despite the loss. "We played a great game this afternoon, as we pressured Seneca for a good portion of the game but were not able to find many holes. At the same time, we played very strong defensively, limiting their chances during the second half."

One player from each team was named players of the match, as voted by the coaches from both teams. Stephanie Doornekamp (Westport) of St. Lawrence and Wedlock from Seneca were the game's top players.

For Seneca, it marks its first OCAA medal in women's rugby. St. Lawrence has fallen short in the OCAA bronze medal match in each of the last two seasons.

Source: St. Lawrence College with files from OCAA Communications

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