Alexander Colle | Sports Editor
Featured Image: York allowed three tries within 15 minutes in the second half at home against Guelph. | Vincent Chen
Despite a strong first-half effort, the Lionesses were unable to get their first win of the season on Friday, as York fell to the seventh-ranked Queens Gaels by a score of 31-12.
The first 10 minutes of the match saw a constant Gaels pressure, which included several goal-line stoppages by the Lions defence, who held their own in their own zone.
Despite the strong defensive presence, Queens finally managed to break through in the 12th minute, scoring their first try courtesy of Lauren Murray, which made the score 7-0 after a successful conversion by Dominique Rumball, her first of three on the day.
However, it only took two minutes for York to respond, as Lioness Tobi Owotomo broke through Queens’ back line en route to an electrifying 40-yard try, cutting the Gaels’ lead to two.
“The team needed to quickly show Queens that we can not only defend our try line but that we can get points on the board,” said Owotomo after the match. “Megan Pakulis and a few other forwards ran one of our plays and once the ball was passed to me, I was grateful to be able to score.”
Some sloppy York passing in Lioness territory resulted in Queen’s second try in the 25th minute by Gaels McKinley Hunt, increasing their lead to seven once again.
Despite the close score, York was unable to muster much momentum on the offensive end in the half, mainly due to sloppy passing and offensive miscues. The only thing keeping the Lionesses in the game was their hard-hitting defense, which made several key stops near their goal line.
In the second half, the Gaels continued to put pressure on the York defence which finally proved too much. Queens came out of the gate firing on all cylinders in the second half, scoring in the 42nd minute off a 40-yard try by Queens’ Nadia Popov. Refusing to take their foot off the gas pedal, Queens added tries in the 48th minute, and again in the 52nd minute by Pippi McKay and Molly Labenski, respectively. This brought the score to a daunting 31-5.
Despite facing a large deficit, York refused to roll over, and continued to battle, until finally scoring their second try of the match in the 68th minute, courtesy of Pakulis.
However, by this time it was too little too late for the Lions, as the game ended by a score of 31-12 in front of an animated crowd of approximately 300 attendants.
“The team’s performance against Queens, despite the loss, was actually one of our best performances in all of my three years at York,” added Owotomo.
“Our defence in the game—despite early in the second half when they scored the majority of their tries—had Queens hurting and even complimenting us during the game! I was so proud of the way that the team pulled together. We also had a quite a few girls coming back from various injuries who all killed it on the field!”
Lioness offensive powerhouse Owotomo and Gaels Popov were the most notable performers of this match, as both notched tries from 40-plus yards out for their respective teams.
“We were all so proud of the performance and we can’t wait to kick it up a notch in our next game against Western.”
The Lions look to break into the win column after their bye-week on September 29 in London against the Western Mustangs. Tip-off is at 7:00 p.m.
