VICTORIA, B.C. – The University of Victoria Vikes women's rugby team fell short of their CIS national championship bid in Kingston, Ont., losing to the fourth-seeded Concordia Stingers 34-12 in the third quarter-final match on Nov. 5. The Vikes will face the Acadia Axewomen in the consolation final on Nov. 7 at 3:00 p.m. pacific time. The RSEQ finalist Stingers, who are looking for the first national title in program history, will face hosts the Queen's Gaels on Saturday at 5 p.m. eastern in the second semifinal.
But Vikes women's rugby head coach Brittany Waters says her young Vikes team can hold their heads high after their sensational run to their first Canada West championship in their history.
"This is just the beginning for this team. We did extremely well this year and we are a very young team and will return seven or eight starters. Getting to nationals was exciting for us."
Concordia came out of the gates with the early pressure and momentum against as they battled at the Vikes try line. The Stingers got on the board in the eighth minute when Kelsey Martin broke through for the first try, with all-Canadian Alex Tessier adding the convert for a 7-0 advantage.
The Vikes had a chance to answer right back but failed on a penalty kick by all-Canadian and CIS Most Valuable Player Jess Neilson. This proved costly as the Stingers were able to add to their lead in the 21st minute when Erica Ikonomopoulos scored an unconverted try to make it 12-0.
Both teams battled back and forth throughout the first half. Victoria had another great opportunity in the middle of the period when they drove down the field, but were inches away from a try after the Concordia defence stood tall and pushed them out of contention.
Lianne Bragg then broke through multiple tackles and pushed her way to the middle of the try zone to put down the score for Concordia. Tessier once again added the convert to give Concordia a 19-0 lead at half.
Facing a 19-point deficit, the Vikes started the second half with the momentum they needed to get back in the game. VIke Ciel Arbouer-Boehme got dragged down by multiple Concordia defenders and pushed herself into the try zone to put her team on the board.
Only a minute later however, all-Canadian Frederique Rajotte stamped out that momentum as she picked up a pass out wide from Tessier and ran untouched for half the field to put down a try.
The Vikes once again chipped away at the Concordia lead as Nikisa Lavale scored a try halfway through the second to cut the lead in half at 24-12.
From there the duo of Tessier and Rajotte took over. First it was Tessier with a try to make it a 17-point lead, then Rajotte followed with a big run, pushing away Vikes all the way down for another try.
Rajotte was selected player of the game for Concordia. Back Row Pam Buisa (Gatineau, Que.) received the same honour for Victoria.
Official championship website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wrugby/index
SCORING SUMMARY:
CON 19-15: 34
VIC 0-12: 12
First Half:
CON - Kelsey Martin try (Emily Hickson convert) 8th minute (CON 7 - VIC 0)
CON - Erika Ikonomopoulos try 21st (CON 12 - VIC 0)
CON - Lianne Bragg try (Emily Hickson convert) 32nd (CON 19 - VIC 0)
Second Half:
VIC - Ciel Arbour-Boehme try (Jess Neilson convert) 5th (CON 19 - VIC 7)
CON - Frederique Rajotte try 7th (CON 24 - VIC 7)
VIC - Sya Trafford try 15th (CON 24 - VIC 12)
CON - Alexandra Tessier try (Emily Hickson convert) 18th (CON 29 - VIC 12)
CON - Frederique Rajotte try 26th (CON 34 - VIC 12)
Players of the Game:
CON: Frederique Rajotte (Markham, Ont.)
VIC: Pam Buisa (Gatineau, Que.)
PRE-CHAMPIONSHIP SEEDING
1. Acadia (AUS champions: 5-1 regular season / 2-0 conference playoffs)
2. McMaster (OUA champions: 4-1 regular season / 3-0 conference playoffs)
3. Ottawa (RSEQ champions: 7-0 regular season / 2-0 conference playoffs)
4. Victoria (Canada West champions: 2-2 regular season / 2-0 conference playoffs)
5. Concordia (RSEQ finalists: 6-1 regular season / 1-1 conference playoffs)
6. StFX (AUS finalists: 5-1 regular season / 0-1 conference playoffs)
7. Lethbridge (Canada West finalists: 0-3-1 regular season / 1-1 conference playoffs)
8. Queen's (Hosts: 4-1 regular season / 1-2 conference playoffs)
SCHEDULE & RESULTS:
Thursday, Nov. 5
13:00 Quarter-final 1: Ottawa 29, StFX 7
15:00 Quarter-final 2: Lethbridge 14, McMaster 62
17:00 Quarter-final 3: Concordia 34, Victoria 12
19:00 Quarter-final 4: Queen's 24, Acadia 17
Friday, Nov. 6
Rest day
Saturday, Nov. 7
11:00 Consolation 1: StFX vs. Lethbridge (CIS-SIC.tv)
13:00 Consolation 2: Victoria vs. Loser QF 4 (CIS-SIC.tv)
15:00 Semifinal 3: Ottawa vs. McMaster (CIS-SIC.tv)
17:00 Semifinal 4: Concordia vs. Winner QF 4 (CIS-SIC.tv)
Sunday, Nov. 8
11:00 Fifth place (CIS-SIC.tv)
13:00 Bronze medal (CIS-SIC.tv)
15:00 Championship final (CIS-SIC.tv)
