The Ravens women’s rugby team has yet to find their first win of the season after losing two more games, one against Sherbrooke University and the other against the University of Ottawa.
In Carleton’s home-opener, they lost 28-17 to the visiting Sherbrooke Vert et Or.
It was a rough first half of the game for the Ravens, with Sherbrooke jumping to a 21-7 lead by the end of the first half.
Flanker Malak Saif El Naser’s try kept Carleton within touching distance, but despite outscoring Sherbrooke in the second half, it was too much to overcome.
“We had our ups and our downs, but as a team we came together,” said Sherbrooke player Claudia Mooney. “When it wasn’t going well, we picked each other up and we came out even stronger.”
“There’s a few things we need to change on attack to get the ball moving more effectively,” he said. “We’re getting better every day and this was a much better performance.
Carleton went 0-3 on the season a few days later when they faced off against their cross town rivals, the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees, while celebrating alumni night on Sept. 13.
Unfortunately, the game was another uphill battle for the Ravens, who faced a strong Garnet and Grey side, who won 39-12 .
The fast attack from the Gee-Gees proved to be overwhelming early on for the Ravens as they scored on their three opening possessions.
The deficit proved too large to overcome in the second half, though Raven Lauryn Walker added to the score late in the game.
Thompson’s team suffered an additional blow with the loss of fourth year Anastasia Bourka who was carted off midway through the first half, and later underwent leg surgery for a broken fibula.
“We’ve got a string of bad luck with the injuries that’s for sure … it seems like with the injuries, when it rains it pours,” Thompson said.
The team now reaches the midway point of the season without a win and have one home game against Laval and two away ones against Sherbrooke and Ottawa University.
“We knew as soon as the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) made the decision to restructure it was going to be tough, there’s no easy weeks in this league,” said Thompson.
“The RSEQ is by far the best league in Canada, and we’re a very young team. We have 14 players in first year, another eight in second year, and many of them are on the field, so we’re learning.”
Thompson also emphasized that with such a young squad, the team needs to focus on the importance of having patience.
“Week to week they’re getting better,” said Thompson. “They’re learning what it takes to train at this level and to compete at this level, and that doesn’t happen overnight. We know that it takes time, but we’re happy with the progress they’re making.”
The Ravens begin the back half of their season on Sept. 22 when they take on Laval University at 1 p.m. at Raven Road Field.
Feature image by Tim Austen.
