Banner Season: Gryphon get championship victory on final kick of the game
Kingston, Ont. (via Guelph Gryphons) - In a matchup between perennial powers in OUA women's rugby, it would be the leg of Tausani Levale on the final kick of the match that would ultimately secure the 18th OUA title in program history for the Guelph Gryphons women's rugby team, who claimed the OUA banner in dramatic fashion on Friday night at Queen's University's Nixon Field. In their seventh straight meeting in the OUA women's rugby championship game, the Guelph Gryphons would defeat the Queen's Gaels, 26-24. The win snaps the Gryphons two-game losing streak to the Gaels in the gold medal game as they last defeated the Gaels at Nixon Field back in 2021. Guelph adds on to their OUA-record for the most conference championships (18) of any school in OUA women's rugby.
The Gryphons, just like in their first matchup earlier this season with Queen's back on Sept. 21, would get off to a fast start, scoring a try two minutes into the match. The U of G women would work their way back to middle of the field, exploiting the Gaels defence as Lara Jorgensen would utilize her speed to run it in for Guelph's opening try of the match. The Gryphons would add another try in the 12th minute when Jillian Bernard-Jardine scored to make it 12-0 Guelph. Queen's would score off a Sibbhan Sheeran try to cut it down to 12-7, 9 minutes after. The Gryphons would come close to scoring another try, but a penalty would end their possession at the goal line in the 30th minute. And for the next 10 minutes, the Gryphons would show resilience on the defensive side of the ball to deny the Gaels several opportunities from scoring from the goal line as they would survive with their 12-7 lead intact at halftime.
This tightly-contested championship game would carryover to the second half with the Gryphons continuing their stout defending throughout the match. Both teams would trade the lead throughout the half when Shibbhan Sheeran scored her second try to give Queen's the 14-12 lead. Kennedy Feasby would put Gryphs back in front by a try when she would score on a 5-yard dash through the Queen's defenders five minutes later in the 53rd minute. The Gryphons would continue to hold off the Gaels push until the 73rd minute when Maddy Donnelly would break through and score to give the hosts a 21-19 lead. Queen's would add on a penalty kick conversion in the 79th minute to go up a full try and it seemed like it would be Gaels winning their third straight banner but the Gryphons would have the last say.
A mistake from the Gaels in the final minute would open the door for the Gryphons to make one last push. The women would quickly make their way down the field showing the heart of a championship team, willing their way towards the goal line. It would take several attempts but Guelph would breakthrough on the penultimate play of the match with the team pushing in Heather Armstrong for the game-tying try. With the ball set up with a great look at the conversion, Tausani Levale, with the championship on the line, would calmly split the uprights to win the OUA Championship for the Gryphons with a final score of 26-24.
Both Guelph and Queen's will now turn the page from this memorable final and now focus their attention to nationals, with both teams representing the OUA at the 2024 U SPORTS Women's Rugby Championship in Charlottetown, PEI (Oct. 30-Nov. 3). The seeding for the women's rugby national championship tournament will be announced on Sunday evening (Oct. 27), with national quarterfinal action set to get underway in Charlottetown on Wednesday, October 30. The Gryphons will head to PEI as they seek to win their third national title in program history, with the previous two University of Guelph women's rugby national titles coming in 2011 and 1998.
