The Carleton Ravens women’s rugby team faced off against the Concordia Stingers Sept. 6 at Keith Harris Stadium. The Ravens lost 29-17, but the team came out swinging.
Ravens winger Natasha Smith scored the game’s first try four minutes in.
This gave the Ravens the 5-0 lead early. Just like the past game against the McGill Martlets, the Ravens managed to start the game with great intensity, according to Smith.
“First of all, Concordia is a really physical team, so we knew that going in,” she said. “We were able to shut them down [early in the game] and they didn’t really expect that. We come in as the underdogs for a lot of these teams, so we really have a chance to plant the seed of doubt.”
After that the Stingers had an answer to the Ravens lead, quickly scoring the tying try and adding another try within a few minutes to give them the 10-5 lead. The Ravens put up a fight coming into the second half, not allowing the Stingers to score and giving some decent offensive opportunities.
“We were in it for most of the game, and we let off a few easy tries for them,” Smith said. “Basically we broke down, but we had a good game. We had great support off our running lines. We had great support. We kept the ball alive. Our defence was great.”
Despite that, the Stingers built a 29-5 lead in the second half, but Smith broke the long drought for her team by capitalizing on a beautiful pass from centre field, taking it all the way to the house for her second try of the game.
“We just kept moving the ball . . . and it was really based on what we did in practice. We run those Y-lines and we cut off the defender, and I was able to beat my opposition with my speed,” she said.
The game was coming to a close, but the Ravens never surrendered. Even after the clock hit triple zeroes, Smith was able to push for her third try of the game to make the final score 29-17 for the Stingers.
“We play really fast, we try to catch the other team off-guard,” Smith said. “The last try was off a penalty . . . We kept moving the ball and I was able to score on the outside.”
The Ravens play again Sept. 14 on the road against the Bishops Gaiters.
