The Brock Badgers women's rugby team sent their seniors off with a commanding 83-14 performance over the Laurier Golden Hawks at Alumni Field on Saturday (Oct. 7).
In the first ten minutes, the Badgers took control of the momentum, finding the end zone twice courtesy of back three Grace Dale and first-year wing/full back Julie Grohal. Sophomore Maia Swemmer got the first of her two tries of the half in the 14th minute, which was followed up by a Jenna Rutherford try four minutes later.
When the first half whistle blew, the Badgers held a 57-0 lead. Grohal kicked an impressive seven conversions in the half and also added two tries. Matalyn Lee, Jordyn Pitt and Jordan Smith each earned one try in the first 40 minutes.
In the second half, it was more of the same for Brock as back five Mackenzie Lapierre earned a try of her own in the 51st minute. Laurier scored one try in the 55th and 68th minutes, respectively, to put up a final score of 14.
Olivia Van Waart scored two tries in the half, with Chloe Hunt also added one to help Brock finish with a score of 83. Grohal ended the contest with 28 points after adding two more conversions in the second half.
Brock's Player of the Match was Van Waart, who came on in the second half and led by example by getting the team back on track and scoring a couple of tries.
Grohal impressed, playing winger in the first half and full back in the second, while first-year prop Brooke Rempel was outstanding once again by making unselfish passes to set her teammates up for tries and strong tackling.
Head coach Mark Smerdon is proud of how the team played during the match.
"We stuck to our process and what we do well, and we were real physical at the breakdown. We're just trying to add creativity all the time. So, I think that worked and our forwards found lots of gaps and then also created space for the backs to play too."
Up next, the Badgers will await their opponent for the first round of the OUA playoffs. With the win, the Badgers are guaranteed a home playoff game on Saturday, October 14.
BADGERS AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 4-2
Conference Record: 4-2
Next match: Saturday, Oct. 14 vs TBD • TBD – Alumni Field (OUA Quarter-Final)
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