Uzodinma Ukagwu | Sports Editor
Featured Image: Lions secure first win of the season. | Courtesy of YorkU Lions
The York Lions women’s rugby team won their first game of the season on Saturday, when they beat the Western Mustangs 33-19, at Alumni Field.
York showed a lot of heart, refusing to let last week’s loss to McMaster get to them, as they dominated against Western from start to finish.
The Lions opened the scoring just 11 minutes in, when Captain Megan Pakulis scored the first try of the game, and Natasha Naismith converted the kick.
The Lions then extended their lead to 14-0 in the 24th minute, when Brittany Ediagbonya found the try zone, with another successful conversion from Naismith.
The Mustangs halved the Lions lead in the 38th minute, when Veronica Harrigan found pay-dirt, and Lexi Smith converted the kick.
In the second, the Stangs came out of the gate hungry to even the score, and that’s exactly what they did. However, the Lions quickly restored their lead, when Naismith added seven points all by herself—scoring a try, and then converting the kick.
Western threatened to even the score late, as they found pay-dirt once again, however, they failed to convert the kick, which meant York still clung to a two-point lead. Then, Lions rookie Asia Hogan-Rochester gave York some insurance in the form of her first ever try as a Lion, which made the score 28-19.
Fourth-year veteran, Michela Stratton, put the game to bed in the last minute, as she scored her second try of the season, extending the Lion lead to 14, en route to the 33-19 victory.
The Lions will be on the road next week, when they’ll be in Guelph taking on the Gryphons on September 22. Kick off is at 12 p.m.
