Try as they might, the Bishop’s Gaiters women’s rugby team were no match for Carleton on Sept. 14.
The Ravens were successful in their second road game of the season, blanking host Bishop’s 77-0. The impressive win was their first of the year and improved their record to 1-2.
Ravens winger Natasha Smith said while the scoreboard painted the picture of a blowout, it wasn’t necessarily an easy win.
“We knew that Bishop’s isn’t the strongest team, so we really had a goal to stick to our game plan and stay focused and we did do that, but it was hard as it was a messier game than usual,” she said. “But I think we did a good job of coming back to our goals and staying on track. It definitely did build some momentum.”
The Ravens were able to strike quickly, scoring their first try of the game in the first five minutes. Another one came quickly thereafter, opening the floodgates for the fifth-place Ravens.
Smith dominated the score sheet, scoring six tries. She was also named the Ravens’ most valuable player for the game.
“When we played Bishop’s we found that there was a lot of room wide, so we were able to draw and pass well, preserving space,” she said. “I was usually on the outside, so I finished the tries.”
Despite Smith’s performance, the scoring was still spread out. Six others scored tries for Carleton, including a two-try performance from Eila Collings.
The Ravens shutout win is just the second of this Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec women’s rugby season, the first coming when the University of Ottawa (U of O) Gee-Gees bested Montreal 34-0 earlier this year.
Carleton will next face the University of Montreal Carabins in what will be a test for the 1-2 squad.
“We wanted to use this as a game for what we needed to build on for when we faced harder teams like Montreal, Laval, and Ottawa U,” Smith said.
Smith referenced that the Ravens’ goals game-by-game don’t change much, but their win over the Gaiters acts as a good measuring stick game for their systems.
“We always set goals week-to-week,” she said. “We want to play it quickly on attack and even on defense we want to be the first one up on our feet to contest for the ball or set back up. We want to do the little things that just require effort better than our opposition.”
The Ravens will get their opportunity to face the Carabins on Sept. 20, going on the road for the second week in a row.
“When you’re playing at home, you get to Carleton about two hours before, then you start getting focused,” she said. “So it is a bit harder, but we try to stay focused as much as we can.”
A win versus Montreal would put Carleton at 2-2 leading up to stronger tests against Laval and ultimately the U of O Gee-Gees.
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