Guelph, ON – The University of Victoria women's rugby team opened the U SPORTS Championship with a commanding 52-7 victory over Brock University on Wednesday, Nov. 4, advancing to the national semifinal.
The Vikes overcame an early Brock strike before their class began to show.
- Brock opened the scoring in the 10th minute and took an early 7-0 lead. The Badgers competed hard throughout the opening stages, but Victoria capitalized whenever Brock made mistakes.
- Kendra Cousineau got the Vikes on the board before Maggie Mackinnon added a try of her own to give Victoria the lead.
- Emilie Sinclair crossed late in the half as the Vikes took a 19-7 advantage into the break.
Victoria took complete control in the second half.
- Cousineau added her second try shortly after halftime to extend the lead and set the tone for a second half that would be thoroughly dominated by the tournament's second seed.
- Samara Sadden and Cypress Des Ormeaux Schmidt both found the try line as the Vikes began to pull away.
- Remee Brown provided an immediate spark as the Vikes shifted to their depth, scoring a try and adding three successful conversions.
- ShonDreya Smardon capped the scoring in the closing moments as Victoria finished with 52 unanswered points.
Notables
- Victoria outscored Brock 52-0 after trailing 7-0 early in the first half.
- Remee Brown contributed 11 points through a try and three conversions.
- Canada West Player of the Year, Maddy Grant, added another accolade to her trophy case as she was awarded the Vikes Player of the Game honours.
The Vikes will face the #3 Laval Rouge in the U SPORTS semifinal on Friday, Nov. 6, with kickoff set for 4 p.m. EST.
