The York University Lions women's rugby team defeated the Trent Excalibur by a score of 38-23 on Friday night (Sept. 11) at the York Rugby Field.
The early stages of the match saw the two sides share the ball while sharing blows and creating the game's physical tempo, until
Petra Woods (Brampton, Ont.) broke off a long run that shifted the momentum to York's advantage. Woods, last year's OUA rookie of the year, came out strong in the first half, creating space and breaking tackles leading to York maintaining field position.
Cheyenne Legerton (Brampton, Ont.) gave the Lions the lead late in the dying moments of the first half, breaking a few tackles and managing to reach for the try. Trent kept the game close however, and the score going into the second half was 19-8 for the home team.
Tobi Owotomo (Mississauga, Ont.) opened the second half by displaying her ball security while being a force within the scrum. Owotomo scored the first try of her career by scoring late in the match to put the game out of reach and secure the Lions first victory of the 2015 season.
The Lions aggressive push for the in-goal area proved to be the winning strategy, as they exploded in the second half for three unanswered tries. The pack of forwards and backs for the Lions worked as a cohesive unit, paving the way for several players to score.
Legerton scored twice on the night, while Owotomo,
Jonelle Mars (Scarborough, Ont.),
Catherine Belanger (Orleans, Ont.) and
Marty Alaimo (Toronto) all added tries of their own. Belanger led the way with 11 total points, making three conversions as well.
The Lions are back on the pitch on Friday, Sept. 19 at the University of Toronto, looking for their second win of the season against the cross-town rival Varsity Blues. The next home game for the Lions is Friday, Oct. 2 when they welcome the Queen's Gaels at 7pm.
