The Carleton Ravens women’s rugby team defeated the Sherbrooke Vert et Or by a score of 26-0 at Ravens Road Field on Sept. 18. The win improved their record to 3-0 on the season, which already surpasses the win total from last season.
Ravens head coach Patrick Thompson said after the game that the play was much more physical in comparison to the previous two games.
“We had a bit of a slow start,” Thompson said. “But we were happy with how they picked up the intensity, picked up the tempo and played a full eighty minutes.”
The Ravens spent much of the first 15 minutes pinned in their own end by an aggressive Vert et Or attack.
However, momentum in the game soon swung to Carleton, who moved the ball deep into Sherbrooke territory. The Vert et Or’s strong defence stalled the Ravens’ attack near the goal line. Eventually the home side broke through, with Mel Judges picking off of a scrum and scoring a try in the 26th minute.
Bailey Dean converted the kick, making it 7-0.
The lead was extended in the 33rd minute. The ball was worked out wide, and centre Michelle Harper took advantage, making the score 12-0 heading into halftime.
Opening up the second frame, the Ravens looked dangerous with several long runs but weren’t able to cash in immediately.
Olivia Merritt scored a try off a Sherbrooke penalty 10 minutes into the second half, and in the 68th minute Judges scored her second try of the game.
Dean converted both kicks and the score finished at 26-0.
“We’re confident in her when the opportunities arrive, she’s going to make the most of it,” Thompson said of Dean’s kicking “If you look back to week one she has progressed quite a bit, just getting more consistent.”
With two players sidelined with injuries to start the game, things got worse as halfway through the second frame starting flanker Emily Tippins was carried off the field with a lower-body injury.
“It is a concern when anyone goes down but we’ve got a lot of depth in the line-up,” Thompson said. “Everyone knows that the expectation is that someone fills in and we don’t miss a step.”
Through the third game of the 2016 season, the women’s rugby team has already surpassed its win total from last season with four games remaining on the schedule.
“We’ve got a new coaching staff, they’ve brought in a new system of play, a lot of the girls just had a great attitude going into this season,” team captain Davie Beaudin said of the improvement this year. “They’re willing to try new things, willing to make mistakes and move forward and I think that has really helped us at least start the season off on a good foot.”
The Ravens now enter the toughest stretch of their schedule, with three games in eight days against Concordia, Laval, and Ottawa—the traditionally stronger sides in the conference.
Needing only one win to secure a playoff berth, the Ravens will kick off against the Laval Rouge et Or on Sept. 24 in Quebec City at 3:00 p.m.
