FROM THE ARCHIVES: SECOND STRAIGHT TITLE FOR WOMEN'S RUGBY
ETOBICOKE, Ont. - On the final day of the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) women's rugby season the Humber Hawks squared off against the Conestoga Condors, with the 2011 OCAA title at stake.
Humber had won the first two matchups this season, but in the second game, they were pushed to the limit by Conestoga. In this year's women's final the two engaged in another epic battle, with Humber taking their second consecutive provincial crown by a tight score of 24-19.
In the first half, both teams were ferocious as bodies were flying every which way. Humber controlled much of the play in the first half and finally broke through and scored the game's first try. Laura Mueller capped off a long possession as she plunged over the goal line and scored.
Off the next kick, Humber was right back on the attack as they pounced on the ball and ran it downfield. Off a quick reverse play, Maire Balzan barrelled over the Condors defence and scored another.
OCAA West scoring champion Brooklyn Craig would add another try to make the score at half 17-0 for the Hawks.
At the half Conestoga coach, Josh Kirk had some words for his team, and that woke up them up in a big way. They controlled the pace of the second half breaking runs and giving the Hawks defence fits.
Humber's Kelsey Bardy did manage to slow down the momentum by adding a sneaky little try to put the Hawks up 24-0.
This, however, seemed to give Conestoga more momentum as they reeled off two quick tries in less than seven minutes. Valerie Shantz and Rebecca Bannon scored on identical plays where they just wore down the Hawks goal-line defence.
Twelve minutes later Caitlin Martin broke one her many big runs on the day and scored again.
Humber's 24-0 lead was now whittled down to a narrow 24-19 advantage. The Hawks tried to add some insurance, but Conestoga was just too strong. The Condors stopped the Hawks inside five yards three separate times.
With less than 20 seconds left Conestoga's speedster Martin broke free down the left sidelines and looked like she was going to put the game away for Conestoga. Out of nowhere came Humber's Stephanie Draper with a game-saving tackle.
Shortly after the tackle, the final whistle blew, and the Hawks had won their second consecutive. The final score flashed on the scoreboard, reading Humber 24 and Conestoga 19.
For their efforts, Diane Bushell (Conestoga) and Draper (Humber) were each named player of the match for their respective teams.
The final game of the season was the best game of the year. A game filled with hard hits, crisp passing and lots of drama gave the three hundred plus fans on hand all the excitement they could handle.
After three tough matches, this season Humber and Conestoga may have sparked the first major rivalry in OCAA women's rugby.
