Gees blown out by Thunderbirds; shocked by Gaels in final minutes
Two out of three games resulted in losses for the Gee-Gees this championship trip, with a road to the championship cut short at the semifinals by UBC and a shoulder-for-shoulder loss against Queen’s for third place.
Semi-finals
After a tough win in their first game Wednesday against Guelph, The Ottawa Gee-Gees faced off against UBC this Friday in the semi-finals. With the final score being 47-17 Thunderbirds, the second game of the garnet and grey’s trip to Charlottetown left much to be desired.
The game started with a short ball game from Ottawa, with the props handling most of the distance gained. The Thunderbirds showcased their strong defence and intelligent play game by not allowing Ottawa to gain any impactful yards, causing desperation within the garnet and grey, shown by the multiple back and forth kicks both teams would pursue, hoping to break any gap in the defensive lines.
UBC achieved breaking the Gee-Gees defensive line when three-time Olympian Charity Williams ran through the short-side to the middle and scored the first try of the semi-finals, giving the Thunderbirds the lead and five points, plus their respective conversion kick, turning that five into a seven.
Not long after, it got turned into a 14, as UBC stole a throw-in and passed it down the line, and second-year Adia Pye ran down the whole field, scoring an impressive and intimidating try against the Ottawa team.
Ottawa, known for being a physical team with a huge push, took advantage of their history of pushing the Thunderbirds off the ball in the scrums and scored their first try of the game off a lineout, which turned into a maul, and allowed 2024 RSEQ First Team All-Star Emma Wade to touch the ball down.
Halftime came after a very contested game, where the Ottawa forwards battled against the UBC backs, which is both teams’ strong suit and were put against each other.
The Gee-Gees were missing two key players: 2024 RSEQ MVP Aurora Bowie and 2023 U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian Tylo Borsboom, who make a difference on the offensive front.
The second half started strong for the Thunderbirds, with another amazing run and a fantastic try from Charity Williams, putting Ottawa’s defensive line together with her incredible speed and drive. The try fever continued by UBC with another try right behind by Adia Pye, creating a 21-point difference between teams and turning the scoreboard 26-5.
The Gee-Gees reappeared on the scoreboard after a penalty was given right on the five-yard of the Thunderbirds. Following a long chain of pop-ups into the end zone, it was Sophie McDonald who finally delivered the ball to the try zone, decreasing the score difference to 26-12.
This did not last long as Thunderbird Simon Bolt found Ottawa’s end-zone once again and delivered another try for her team; due to a high tackle, the British Colombia team gained conversion points without a kick. UBC’s Teya Ashworth made a 20 meters run right in the middle, with massive support from Kiki Idowu, who delivered another try for her team; plus the conversion kick made the score 40-12.
The Gee-Gees forwards rocked their way to the end-zone, and it was Anna Dodge who scored Ottawa’s third try, with an attempt to close the gap shown on the scoreboard. However, this lacked results as UBC finished the game with a final try by Vela Baravian and a final conversion kick, sealing the final score and the end of the Gee-Gee’s road to finals.
Bronze Battle
After the tiring defeat against UBC, the Gee-Gees underwent another game on Sunday. They patched up their bruises, re-tied their cleats, and showcased a fantastic match against Queen’s for the bronze. Sadly, it won’t be until next year when, hopefully, the Ottawa team comes home with a medal.
The final game for the Gee-Gees in Charlottetown arrived with heavy pressure, like all the previous ones. However, both teams playing Sunday proved they wanted to be there and that they wanted to win. Since the beginning, there was a mutual push from both teams, rocking evenly and strumming away with a fierce possession in each’s hands.
The first try went to Queen’s, with Mika Matsukubo sprinting all down the sideline in an impressive breakthrough. She claimed the lead on the scoreboard and scored five points for her team.
The garnet and grey caught up with a maul off a penalty; and three-time RSEQ First Team All-Star Ketsia Kamba scored the game’s second try, matching the score and leading with a conversion kick by Victoria Hough.
However, with both teams insisting on winning, the tries never fared off from each other, and the Queen’s Gaels scored after repetitive picks and a long pass to the wide side into the hands of Rachel Cullum, who delivered and set up Lizzie Gibson for an easy conversion kick; making the score 12-7.
Leigha Stiles scored the third try of the game and the second one for the Gee-Gees, creating the first tie on the scoreboard, at 12. This was followed by Elena Pinkerton from the Gaels, showing that back-and-forth rugby we’ve seen throughout the whole game and scoring a try for the Queen’s, making the final score of the first half 17-12.
The second half came equally tied as the first one. However, this time, the Ottawa Gee-Gees were the ones to score first with a fantastic run by third-year Ella Blyth, tying up the score 17-17.
Cullum drove all the way through the middle of the garnet and grey, falling up just a bit short to score but creating an opportunity for Madison Donnelly to take to the end-zone, yet the Gee-Gees defended their end-zone successfully.
With an incredible drive from the Gee-Gees and an amazing run from Victoria Hough, Ottawa secured a lead with another try from Styles, showcasing on the scoreboard 22-17. However, the lead did not last long as the Queen’s Gaels scored again, tying the game and making the last minutes of the match a nail-biting, fist-clenching moment.
Sadly, for the Gee-Gees, as time ran down on the last play, Cullum ran through the Ottawa line and sprinted 25 yards to grasp the bronze for Queen’s, shutting down U of O on this championship and earning the third-place title in Charlottetown with a final score of 29-22.
