Photo credit Ian MacAlpine
KINGSTON, Ont. (CIS) – The fifth-seed Concordia Stingers began their CIS women's rugby championship journey by knocking off the No. 4 Victoria Vikes 34-12 in the third quarter-final match-up at Queen's University's Nixon Field, Thursday evening.
The RSEQ finalist Stingers, who are looking for the first national title in program history, will face either the host Queen's Gaels or the top-seeded Acadia Axewomen Saturday at 5 p.m. in the second semifinal.
As for the Vikes, fresh off winning their first-ever Canada West championship, they move on to the consolation part of the weekend and will face the loser of Queen's-Acadia Saturday at 1 p.m.
"I thought our forwards did a really good job," said Concordia head coach Graeme McGravie. "We started to dominate, got a little bit more comfortable in the scrums, got into our rhythm. I thought Sammy Dagenais' catch off the kick off there was a huge turning point for us. We came back after they scored, and we seemed to be OK after that."
Rookie bench boss Brittany Waters knew her young Vikes team was outmatched. "This is just the beginning for this team. We did extremely well this year and we are a very young team and return seven or eight starters and getting to nationals was exciting for us."
Concordia came out of the gates with the early pressure and momentum against as they battled at the Vikes try line. The Stingers got on the board in the eighth minute when Kelsey Martin (Pierrefonds, Que.) broke through for the first try, with Alex Ste Marie adding the convert for a 7-0 advantage.
The Vikes had a chance to answer right back but failed on a penalty kick by all-Canadian Jess Neilson (Victoria). This proved costly as the Stingers were able to add to their lead in the 21st minute when Erica Ikonomopoulos (Laval, Que.) scored an unconverted try to make it 12-0.
Both teams battled back and forth throughout the first half. Victoria had another great opportunity in the middle of the period when they drove down and were inches away from a try but the Concordia defence stood tall and pushed them out of contention.
Lianne Bragg (Pointe Claire, Que.) then broke through multiple tackles and pushed her way to the middle of the try zone to put down the score. Ste Marie once again added the convert to give Concordia a 19-0 lead at half.
Facing a 19-point deficit, the Vikes started the second half with the momentum they needed to get back in the game. Ciel Arbouer-Boehme (Victoria) got dragged down by multiple Concordia defenders but she was able to push herself into the try zone to put her team on the board.
Only a minute later however, all-Canadian Frederique Rajotte (Markham, Ont.) stamped out that momentum as she picked up a pass out wide from fellow CIS all-star Alex Tessier (Ste. Clotilde de Horton, Que.) and ran untouched for half the field to put down a try.
The Vikes once again chipped away at the Concordia lead as Nikisa Lavale (Abbostford, B.C.) scored a try halfway through the second to cut the lead in half at 24-12.
From there the duo of Tessier and Rajotte took over. First it was Tessier with a try to make it a 17-point lead, then Rajotte followed with a big run, pushing away Vikes all the way down for another try.
Rajotte was selected player of the game for Concordia. Back Row Pam Buisa (Gatineau, Que.) received the same honour for Victoria.
SCORING SUMMARY
CON 19-15: 34
VIC 0-12: 12
First half
CON - Kelsey Martin try (Alex Ste Marie convert) 8th minute (CON 7 - VIC 0)
CON - Erika Ikonomopoulos try 21st (CON 12 - VIC 0)
CON - Lianne Bragg try (Alex Ste Marie convert) 32nd (CON 19 - VIC 0)
Second half
VIC - Ciel Arbour-Boehme try (Jess Neilson convert) 5th (CON 19 - VIC 7)
CON - Frederique Rajotte try 7th (CON 24 - VIC 7)
VIC - Sya Trafford try 15th (CON 24 - VIC 12)
CON - Alexandra Tessier try 18th (CON 29 - VIC 12)
CON - Frederique Rajotte try 26th (CON 34 - VIC 12)
Players of the game
CON: Frederique Rajotte (Markham, Ont.)
VIC: Pam Buisa (Gatineau, Que.)
Legend:
Try: 5 points
Penalty goal: 3 points
Convert: 2 points
PRE-CHAMPIONSHIP SEEDING
1. Acadia (AUS champions: 5-1 regular season / 2-0 conference playoffs)
2. McMaster (OUA champions: 4-1 regular season / 3-0 conference playoffs)
3. Ottawa (RSEQ champions: 7-0 regular season / 2-0 conference playoffs)
4. Victoria (Canada West champions: 2-2 regular season / 2-0 conference playoffs)
5. Concordia (RSEQ finalists: 6-1 regular season / 1-1 conference playoffs)
6. StFX (AUS finalists: 5-1 regular season / 0-1 conference playoffs)
7. Lethbridge (Canada West finalists: 0-3-1 regular season / 1-1 conference playoffs)
8. Queen's (Hosts: 4-1 regular season / 1-2 conference playoffs)
SCHEDULE & RESULTS
Thursday, Nov. 5
13:00 Quarter-final 1: Ottawa 29, StFX 7
15:00 Quarter-final 2: Lethbridge 14, McMaster 62
17:00 Quarter-final 3: Concordia 34, Victoria 12
19:00 Quarter-final 4: Queen's vs. Acadia (CIS-SIC.tv)
Friday, Nov. 6
Rest day
Saturday, Nov. 7
11:00 Consolation 1: StFX vs. Lethbridge (CIS-SIC.tv)
13:00 Consolation 2: Victoria vs. Loser QF 4 (CIS-SIC.tv)
15:00 Semifinal 1: Ottawa vs. McMaster (CIS-SIC.tv)
17:00 Semifinal 2: Concordia vs. Winner QF 4 (CIS-SIC.tv)
Sunday, Nov. 8
11:00 Fifth place (CIS-SIC.tv)
13:00 Bronze medal (CIS-SIC.tv)
15:00 Championship final (CIS-SIC.tv)
