The York University Lions women's rugby team won 29-20 over the Trent Excalibur on Friday (Oct. 3) in Peterborough, Ont., in the regular-season finale for both squads.
 
With the victory, the Lions secured a third-place finish in the OUA Russell Division with a 3-2 record. Since a tough opening loss to the nationally-ranked and defending OUA champion Queen's Gaels, the Lions have had a tremendous run this year that included a narrow loss to the No. 3 McMaster Marauders, a tightly-contested victory over the Waterloo Warriors and a blowout 100-0 win over the rival Toronto Varsity Blues.
 
The first half ended with Trent leading by a score of 8-6. However, the Lions were able to turn the tables with a strong second half to take the nine-point victory.
 
Samantha Harman (Markham, Ont.) was prolific in converting penalties, scoring nine of the team's overall points.
 
Fedelia Omoghan (Scarborough, Ont.), who scored five tries in the previous game against the Toronto Varsity Blues, was attributed with a try off a penalty for another five points.
 
One substitute who impacted the game was Catherine Belanger (Orleans, Ont.), who scored five points through a penalty and conversion while also setting up a try. Belanger kicked the ball into space as Zoe Smith (Toronto) chased. Smith chipped the ball ahead and collected it again to score a try.
 
The Lions found their rhythm as Marty Alaimo of Toronto finished a beautiful team try from a lineout. The play started off with Rose Natarelli (Holland Landing, Ont.) taking the ball from the lineout. Natarelli found Kadi Koroma (Guelph, Ont.), who raced 30 yards before releasing Dorrian Khouri (Brampton, Ont.). Khouri made the final run as she offloaded Alaimo for the try under the posts.
 
The team's third-place finish secures a playoff spot for the squad, and the Lions will be on the road next weekend for an OUA quarter-final match. The date, time and opponent are still to be determined.