The Brock women's rugby team celebrated the small in-game victories they achieved during a 82-7 loss to the No. 1-ranked Queen's Golden Gaels at Brock Alumni Field on Saturday.

The Badgers' sideline maintained positive cheers and they celebrated as if they won the national title when winger Loramhel Mateo scored a try late in the second half to put points up on the board against Queen's.

"The mindset going into today's match was to establish a few small goals," said assistant coach Ian Fitzgerald. "We accomplished that by halftime, offensively and defensively."

In the first half, the Badgers held territory on the Gaels and kept speed with the No. 1-ranked squad in the country.

"I think it gave our girls a real eye-opener where they're at individually and it gave them a lot of confidence knowing they can hang in Tier 1," said Fitzgerald. "We haven't had a test like that until now."

The Golden Gaels led 26-0 at halftime.

Brock scored when 8-Man Miia Sorra delivered a pick from the back of the scrum and quickly offloaded to Mateo.

Taylor Knezevich recorded the convert.

For Queen's, Lizzie Gibson led the way with 15 points as she scored a try and kicked five converts.

The Badgers connected well as a team defensively and put on a lot of pressure on the Gaels. One defensive standout was first-year centre Caitlin Mahaffy, who caught the eye of the coaching staff.

"This is the best game I've ever seen her play," said assistant coach Amanda Andres, who has known Mahaffy since she was 16. "Offensively and defensively she stood out. She played a full 80 minutes as a rookie for the first time."

Up next, the Badgers (1-2) host the Guelph Gryphons (2-1) on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 1 p.m.