GAME 3 POOL A: 2009 CIS women’s rugby championship: Pronghorns blank Concordia, win Pool A

VANCOUVER (CIS) – The two-time defending national champion Lethbridge Pronghorns secured first place in their group at the 2009 CIS women’s rugby championship with a 15-0 victory over the Concordia Stingers in the third and final Pool A duel, Friday afternoon at the University of British Columbia.

With the win, the Canada West champion Pronghorns (2-0) earn a spot in Saturday’s early semi-final at 11 a.m. Pacific Time, against either StFX or Guelph. It marks the fourth straight Final Four appearance for Lethbridge, which claimed CIS bronze in 2006.

In their fourth trip to the CIS tournament, the QSSF champion Stingers (1-1) will play in the second national semi-final in team history Saturday at 1 p.m. Concordia finished fourth in the inaugural CIS tourney back in 1998 following a 30-10 semi-final loss to McMaster and a 27-20 bronze-medal defeat against UBC.

SSN Canada will have live webcasts of both semi-final (www.ssncanada.ca or www.cis-sic.ca).

Ashley Patzer of Lethbridge, Alta., who was named CIS player of the year for the second time on Thursday night, gave the Pronghorns an early lead in the Pool A finale with a score in the ninth minute.

The Stingers failed to follow a clearance out of bounds and Patzer took full advantage, receiving the quick line out and diving into the corner to open the scoring.

Lethbridge added two tries before halftime on a pair of spectacular runs by Brittany Orr of Fort Macleod, Alta., and freshman Kenzie Ralph of Raymond, Alta.

Orr ran through the heart of the Stingers defence, one of the few defensive lapses by either team in the contest. Ralph took a more conventional route to add five points as she took a loose ball at around midfield and darted to the end zone untouched.

It was a second try in the tournament for both Patzer and Ralph, while Orr had been named Lethbridge game MVP following a three-try performance in the ‘Horns opener against Western.

The rivals held each other scoreless in the second half with no threatening chances for either team.

Lethbridge head coach Neil Langevin was pleased with his team’s performance but knows they have more in the tank for their semi-final match-up.

“It definitely wasn’t the best we could have played but full marks to Concordia. They matched us very well defensively and it was tough getting around them,” commented the 2009 CIS coach of the year. “At times we lacked enough possession to get continuity on offence but in the end it was still a good win. We’re really healthy and ready for the semi-final tomorrow.”

SCORING SUMMARY
LETH 15-0: 15
CON 0-0: 0

First half
1. LETH: Ashley Patzer (try, 5) – 9th minute
2. LETH: Brittany Orr (5) – 19th minute
3. LETH: Kenzie Ralph (5) – 24th minute

Second half
None

Players of the game
LETH: Regina MacKenzie (Calgary, Alta.)
CON: Jackie Tittley (Kirkland, Que.)

ROUND-ROBIN STANDINGS, SCHEDULE & RESULTS (all times LOCAL: PACIFIC)

Pool A
GP W L T PF PA PTS
1. Lethbridge 2 2 0 0 66 3 9
2. Concordia 2 1 1 0 10 15 4
3. Western 2 0 2 0 3 61 0

Pool B
GP W L T PF PA PTS
1. StFX 1 1 0 0 18 0 4
2. Guelph 1 1 0 0 5 0 4
3. UBC 2 0 2 0 0 23 1

NOTE: a win is worth 4 points and a tie 2 points.
NOTE 2: 1 bonus point is awarded for scoring 4 tries or more in a game, and 1 bonus point is allowed for a loss by 7 points or less.

Friday, Nov. 6
Round-Robin Pool A: Lethbridge 51, Western Ontario 3
Round-Robin Pool B: StFX 18, UBC 0
Round-Robin Pool A: Concordia 10, Western Ontario 0
Round-Robin Pool B: Guelph 5, UBC 0
Round-Robin Pool A: Lethbridge 15, Concordia 0
15:00 Round-Robin Pool B: StFX vs. Guelph

Saturday, Nov. 7
11:00 semi-final 1: Lethbridge vs. second place Pool B (SSN Canada webcast)
13:00 semi-final 2: Concordia vs. first place Pool B (SSN Canada webcast)

Sunday, Nov. 8
10:00 5th place: Western Ontario vs. UBC
12:00 Bronze medal (SSN Canada webcast)
14:00 Championship final (SSN Canada webcast)

- CIS -