Warriors sneak by Blues in Friday evening match

The ninth ranked Warriors snuck by the Toronto Varsity Blues narrowly winning the contest 12-10. The match was the first ever rugby game played at the newly constructed Varsity Centre in Toronto.

Toronto's Lee-Ann Corrigan of Phelpston, Ont., opened the scoring early in the game, breaking through two Waterloo tackles and running 50 yards down the field for the try.

Minutes later, with one U of T player off and an injury on the field, the Warriors took full advantage as first year Emily Sanderson (New Hamburg, Ont.) made a short run for the try (her first of the season) and evened the game at 5-5

With two minutes remaining in the first half, Abbey Gingerich's (Waterloo, Ont.) attempted penalty kick hit the uprights and bounced back into play, allowing 8-man and team captain Sam Eyles (Erin, Ont.) to give the Warriors another five points and a 10-5 lead. Spencerville, Ont., native Megan Colwell (Spencerville, Ont.) successfully converted to give the Warriors a 12-5 lead at the half.

The Blues rallied in the early minutes of the second, getting the ball close to the goal line but were unable to push it in.

After a missed penalty kick by Corrigan, Waterloo knocked the ball on, allowing a Toronto scrum deep in Warriors territory. Third-year engineering major Zoriana Workun (Mississauga, Ont.) took full advantage and ran it in to narrow the gap to two.

U of T pushed hard and got as far as the Waterloo 40 in the last minute of the game. In a final attempt to take the lead, Corrigan just missed the penalty goal and Waterloo kicked the ball out of bounds as the final whistle blew.

Eyles first try of the season would prove to be the difference as the Warriors move to 3-1 on the season. The final regular season match of the year goes a week today (Friday, Oct. 8) as cross-town rivals Laurier Golden Hawks make the short trip over to the Columbia Icefiels for a 4:00 pm game.

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