Team News

Royals beat 'Lomas in Semi-Final Play

Photo by Jerald Waliser

Premier Division:
For the 2nd time in 3 weeks, United took on the Meralomas at Eagleridge Park in Coquitlam. United had won the previous league encounter by 5 points, but this game was for a berth in the Provincial final and the Lomas would be boosted by the presence of Canada players Brittany Waters and Leslie McKenzie for this crucial match-up.

United kept the visitors under pressure early and most of the play in the first 15 minutes took place on the orange and black side of midfield. Flyhalf Kari Horntvedt had the best scoring opportunity as she found a gap in the defensive coverage and sprinted for the line only to be stopped short by fullback Waters. All this pressure went for naught and after stealing the ball from a United scrum, the ball was spun wide across the field where Waters burst into the clear.

Opposite side wing Mia Rushton came across to make a try-saving tackle, but Waters deftly unloaded to her supporting winger who scored untouched to put the visitors up by five. United replied soon after when they were awarded a penalty almost directly in front of the posts. Raeann Galuska’s successful kick narrowed the lead to 2 points. Play continued back and forth and there were many big hits by both sides. Rucks and mauls were fiercely contested and the Lomas seemed to have the upper hand in this regard, forcing United to turn the ball over on more than one occasion.

The home side took advantage of two penalties given up in succession by the Lomas however, as quick ball passed through many hands before Crystal Nikolai scored near the corner flag to put her team in the lead 8-5. As the first 40 minutes wound down, the Lomas threatened deep in United territory and both scrumhalves got into a tussle with an obvious punch being thrown by Jackie Small. No card, just a stern warning given and a kick awarded to United. This enabled the home side to clear the ball out of harm’s way as the half came to a close.

Just prior to this, speedy winger Rushton went down with a twisted knee. She played out the remainder of the first forty, but was unable to continue after the break. This would be a challenge for United with two wingers already on the sidelines because of injury.

Photo by Jerald Waliser

The 2nd half saw more of the same hard running and tackling. A Meraloma was soon cited for ploughing into a ruck with her forearm and she and her captain were again given a stern warning by the referee. Within 5 minutes United centre Stevi Schnoor was cited for the identical offence, but this time out came the yellow card to the dismay of the largely partisan Tri- cities crowd. The visitors took advantage of the edge in numbers as fullback Waters burst through for a 40 metre score. The seemingly makeable conversion was missed and this would come back to haunt the black and orange.

United fought back gamely still one player down, and soon were threatening take the lead back. Another close-in penalty in front of the posts gave them the chance to go up by one, but cooler heads apparently weren’t functioning as a quick tap was taken instead. After the ensuing ruck, the ball was spun out errantly and Loma hooker McKenzie gleefully gathered in the loose ball and commenced on an 80 metre race to the opposite end of the field. She had enough gas in the tank to stretch out over the goal-line just as the pursuit caught up. Another missed conversion left Lomas in charge 15-8.

As time wound down and with Schnoor back on the pitch, United attacked desperately. Some frustration crept into the Lomas game and the penalty count rose against them. Repeated fouls for offside or hands-in occurred within 10 metres of their line. Finally a repeat offender was binned and the home side had the advantage. Several scoring thrusts were thwarted until outside centre Lisa O’Neill was able to barge through two tacklers to score. The convert attempt from Horntvedt was just wide to keep her side 2 points adrift.

The sidelines knew that time was just about up and it was reckoned that United would have to retain possession on the kick-off. There could be no knock-ons, running into touch, or ball killed in the loose. Retain possession they did. After a clean catch and two or three good phases, lock Brittany Freitag found herself in possession at midfield with only fullback Waters to beat. Freitag was brought down after almost a 40 metre run, but the support was there and United kept moving the ball forward.

Photo by Jerald Waliser

Another infraction saw a penalty given almost in front of the posts, but again, emotions took over and the decision was made to run. Supporters cringed at the choice, but possession was retained again until another defender was detected contravening the laws of the game. The players on the field finally heard the screaming from the sidelines and elected to go for goal. It was Galuska’s turn and she calmly split the uprights to make it 16-15. The eerie silence that endured during the lead-up to and actual taking of the kick was immediately followed by the sweet sound of the final whistle.

United takes on Capilano in the final next weekend. In the spirit of the NHL playoffs, a couple of United players finished the semi-final with “upper body injuries” and are listed as “day-to-day”.

2nd Division:

United will play for two titles next week as the 2nd division women’s team defeated Capilano 25-0. Try scorers included Yvonne Lai, Lexi McKinnon, Karli Coupland and Sam Maddalozzo. United led 10-0 at the half. They will face either Nanaimo or the Meralomas next week.

Women's Rugby defeat unbeaten Meralomas

Mia Rushton
Photo by Jerald Waliser

The Premier women's team defeated the previously unbeaten Meralomas 12-7 on the weekend to move into 2nd place in the Premier league.

Tries were scored by Stevie Schnoor and Candace Barry. With only a game next week against winless Bayside, the result virtually guarantees 2nd place and a home semi-final match on May 8th.

Meanwhile, the women's 2nd division team remains in first place with 9 wins and no defeats after a default win over Burnaby. They have clinched first place and end the regular season next weekend with a trip to Nanaimo.

Women's Rugby take first Premiere League Game

Photo by Jerald Waliser

After more than half a season playing Lower Mainland qualifying matches and exhibition games, the Premier women’s team finally took part in its first Premier League contest against the Velox Valhallians in Victoria.

It seemed a daunting task, as the Velox team was bolstered by some national team members out from Ontario priming themselves for the Women’s World Cup in England this August. Coach Paul Halliday had the team well prepared, and they stunned the previous Premier division champs, running out victorious by a 28-10 score.

Flyhalf Kari Turpin kept the opposition at bay with her precise kicking game, but it was winger Mia Rushton who drove the dagger into the Valhallians heart by scoring three tries. Flanker Crystal Nikolai also added a try for the victors.

It is notable to recognize Rushton, a freshman, who switched to rugby after playing for the Douglas women’s soccer team in the fall. She has been a try-scoring machine and has been recognized by the opposition as player of the match 4 games in a row. The team has a bye next weekend before hosting Premier newcomers Cowichan on March 20th.

The men’s squad had rousing match with Surrey RFC this past weekend, and despite running out to a 15-0 lead, they ended up on the losing end of a 41-39 scoreline. The following players had outstanding efforts: Nick Hammerschmidt, George Feraru, Shaun Martignago, Josh Cullen, Callum Bremner and Zayne Mioch.

Old Spaghetti Factory Player of the Week

Stevi Prosser
Photo by Jerald Waliser

Rugby has been a huge part of Stevi's life over the past few months. Not only has she continued to play for the club team while a student at Douglas, but she has represented both B.C. and Canada at various competitions over the past 6 months. Stevi travelled to Colorado in June to help lead Canada to a win against the USA, then was part of the Canadian senior team that competed in the Nations Cup in Ontario against the USA, France, England and South Africa.

She also found time this past summer to help B.C. to the silver medal at the National Championships. Stevi hopes to be selected to the Canadian team that will travel to England for the World Cup in 2010.

Women's Rugby Defeats North Shore Rivals

Photo by Jerald Waliser

The women's rugby squad got a boost from the addition of Mia Rushton from the women's soccer team as they trounced Capilano 46-5 on the weekend.

Making her first start in women's premier division rugby, Rushton tallied three tries from her wing position in the first half to help the team to a commanding 36-0 lead at the break. The team made many changes in the second half, including moving Rushton to the scrumhalf position. Other try scorers were Tiffany Widdeen, April Jones, Stevi Prosser, Kari Horntvedt and Jenna Imai.

Women's Rugby moves to 2–0

Photo by Jerald Waliser

The Douglas College Women’s Rugby Premier team left the pitch Saturday afternoon with a 15-10 defeat of the Bayside RFC Sharks. The win gives the girls a 2-0 record for the short season, and with only 2 games remaining in the qualifying season, they sit in an enviable position.

The game exploded quickly for the home side as Jacqui Stewart converted some intense Douglas pressure into a try within the first minute of play. Bayside immediately turned the pressure around, and within minutes, the game was deadlocked at 5. The strong pressure was kept up by both sides throughout the half, but the score remained 5-5 after 40 minutes.

The Sharks were the ones to come out with the upper hand in the 2nd half, quickly punching in an unconverted try to go up 5, but it was all Douglas from that point on. With 15 minutes remaining, Stevi Prosser gave a clever dummy, giving her enough space to touch down and tie the game up again. Prosser would again have a hand in the next score, as she set up April Jones for the game-winning try with under a minute left.

The 2nd division women took to the field for their first actual game after Capilano forfeit their meeting in the first scheduled match of the season. While the premier women had a dogfight, the 2nd division team easily handled the young squad from Ridge Meadows, walking away with a 52-10 victory, Douglas College students Mikki Vanzuylekom (2), Karli Copeland, and Tennille Morrison each scored key trys for the winning side.

Both teams will enjoy the bye weekend for Thanksgiving, returning to the pitch October 17th, where they will face off against the Burnaby Lake RFC at the Burnaby Lake ports Complex.

Women's Rugby battle Capilano

Stevi Prosser
Photo by Jerald Waliser

After struggling to field two sides last year, the United RFC ladies were looking forward to the opening day of the new season with over 40 players turning up at practice this past week. Changes to the league structure meant the Premier and 2nd division sides would most often play back-to-back games on the same day and at the same pitch.Unfortunately, this did not come about this weekend as Capilano were unable to field a 2nd division side.

The Premier match was contested with some outstanding talent watching from the sidelines as national team members Mandy Marchak (Capilano) and Stevi Prosser (United) rested injuries picked up during last month’s Nations Cup.

United weathered some early pressure by Capilano before a long break by fullback Brianne “The Rocket” Cordick (returning to rugby after a long absence) sent the visitors into attacking mode for the first time. United camped out inside their opponents 22 for some time before winger Tiffany Wideen ( a Moody HS grad playing in her first Premier game) scored in the corner. United continued to send some high risk/high reward passes out to the backs, and when one of these proved too hot for Cordick to handle, Caps centre Andrea Burke gratefully accepted the gift and waltzed 25 metres to score. Her conversion gave Caps a 2 point lead. The visitors responded quickly and soon dominated both possession and field position. Stubborn defence by the home team saw would-be United scorers held up on two seperate occasions. Another opportunity was lost as a pass was knocked forward within metres of the line. Finally a penalty led to a 5 metre line-out and a catch-and-drive was executed perfectly as Gleneagle alumni Kim Stockman put the Tri-cities squad up 10-7.

The next United score was set up by a kick downfield by inside-centre Dani Haaf. After forcing a turnover, a series of passes ended with one 2nd rower (Stockman) feeding another (Denise Galuska) for the try.

The ensuing kick-off almost on halftime saw Stockman go down awkwardly on her neck, and the match was delayed 25 minutes while she was attended to.

The long delay seemed to take the momentum away from United, while giving Capilano renewed energy and purpose. The first 20 minutes of the 2nd half were played mostly in the visitors end and #8 Lindsay Pimlott found a breakdown in defensive coverage to score for the home side. After a missed penalty kick attempt by United’s Raeann Galuska, Burke made one of her own to knot the score at 15 apiece.

The match was now up for the taking and United found a way take it. From a ruck at the Capilano 22, Brittany Freitag charged right up the middle and broke 3 tackles to score beside the posts. Raeann Galuska added the final two points on the conversion. Solid defence for the last few minutes preserved the win.

United Rugby Results April 25th

Stevi Prosser
Photo by Jerald Waliser

Finally something worth writing about concerning United women’s rugby. The team played its last league match on March 21st and then had to endure a month long layoff before their semi-final match against Capilano last weekend…..where they were on the receiving end of a 40-0 drubbing (giving yours truly little in the way of journalistic fodder).

Considering the events of the last few weeks, no one would have been surprised if the team came out flat against Bayside in this contest to determine the third place finisher in the Premier league.

Both teams had injured players on the sidelines, but the game actually turned out to be an entertaining and hotly contested affair.

The first 45 seconds were not indicative of United’s resolve, as they turned over the ball right on the opening kick-off and allowed an easy try by the home side. In fact the team was guilty of sloppy play early on, losing balls in contact and dropping seemingly catchable passes.

As the half progressed, the United forwards starting gaining good possession and quick ball to the backs saw overlaps created. Gleneagle grad Trixie Pacis took advantage of the open field and within the space of a few minutes ran in 3 tries to give the visitors a 15-5 lead. A quick tap penalty taken by Christina Bordignon (another Gleneagle product) resulted in a fourth score. The last 8 minutes of the half saw Bayside dominate possession and they finished it off with a try on the whistle.

The Sharks pressed in the second stanza and the United defense began to show cracks, with both Cindy Yoc and Jodie Cornell scoring. Fullback Tia Croteau added a single conversion to put United down once again at 20-22.

At this point a change in strategy paid off for the Tri-cities squad. Inexplicably, United were not challenging the Bayside throw-ins throughout most of the match, and this gave the home side easy possession every time. With ten minutes to play, Raeann Galuska (Centennial HS) was sent up to at least disrupt the throws and in fact stole three in a row. This allowed flyhalf Stevi Schnoor (Gleneagle) to gain ground with some well-placed kick.

Gaining possession in their opponents end at last, quick ball out saw another mismatch in numbers and winger Liz Robbins (Kwantlen Park) managed to evade the outstretched arms of the closest defender to score from 30 metres out.

Desperate defending in the final minutes allowed United to win and finish 3rd in the Premier Division, a great result considering the number of players lost from last season.

Roller-Coaster season continues

Returning to action after a bye weekend, United travelled to Victoria to take on last year's Premier champions from Velox. The Tri-cities team would take the field with a shuffled line-up, as prop Jess Gillis and scrumhalf April Jones were in New Zealand as coaches with the Port Moody girl's high school team, while flyhalf Candace Barry would be enjoying the bright lights of Las Vegas.

The absence of Jones and Barry would severely test the depth of the team in the backs, but the versatile Dani Haaf had seen action at the base of the scrum before, and the return of Lexy McKinnon from injury would allow Stevi Prosser to move into the flyhalf spot. Despite these changes, the team was due for a good performance as the Spring Premier season so far as been a series of peaks and valleys for United and there was no reason to believe that this pattern would not continue, and continue it did.

The game started out at a good pace, and the visitors were able to control the ball for considerable periods. Liz Robbins, playing her first full season at the Premier level tallied first for United. Velox has had problems this year with numbers and that problem was compounded in the 1st half when their #4 and #7 were bundled off with knee injuries within a minute of each other. Another injury in the half meant they were forced to play short-handed for the remainder of the game.

In no particular order, United scored more tries by the following: - Stevi Prosser on one of her typical bob-and-weaves. - Jackie Stewart with a brace of tries including a rather inelegant belly-flop. - Brittany Freitag finished off a nifty series of passes between the forward pack. - Robbins finished off with her second as she recovered an attempted clearing kick and scored under the posts (converted by Raeann Galuska).

This win puts United into the playoff round with a final league match against Burnaby next weekend, followed by 2 weekends off before everything heats up.

The good news is that flyhalf Barry will return. The bad news is that should the pattern continue, next week will be a valley. Hopefully, the cycle will be broken.

The 1st division team had to forfeit to UVIC because of lack of numbers.