Excalibur Weekend (Sept. 24-26) Wrap-up: Excalibur continues strong start as soccer, rugby and rowing open their seasons
With nine teams in action over the last few days, it made for an action packed weekend for our Trent Excalibur student-athletes. The Excalibur soccer, rugby and rowing teams got their seasons underway while lacrosse continued their championship push into the 2021 season.
The men's and women's soccer got their season started with a home and home weekend match-up against the RMC Paladins. As the visitors in their first match against the Paladins, it was Violet Hipkin and Mariah Shaw who got the Excalibur on the board, winning by a score of 2-0 as they headed home for their home opener. Back at Justin Chiu Stadium, the women's soccer team continued their strong play on both ends of the field, as Hipkin scored her second goal in as many games, before Shelby Doukogiannis and Caitlyn Knight score goals of their own passed the Paladins goalkeeper for a 3-1 win.
"It's great to get six points after two games, the team is playing fantastic right now and we're getting everyone involved and getting that OUA experience," said Excalibur head coach Stuart Robertson. "The student-athletes are doing a great job and they're working hard in training."
On the men's side they too made the trip to visit the RMC Paladins for a doubleheader and came out with similar results. Dominant play offensively saw Sharif Savari and Diego Accardo score their first of the season as the men's soccer team earned the win in game one by a score of 3-0. For their home opener at Justin Chiu Stadium on Sunday, the men's team continued to control the play and came up with a complete effort to solidify a 1-0 win in game two, with Raiden Ramdial scoring for the host Excalibur.
"Our ability to come out strong after not playing for nearly two years is unmistakably exciting and promising. We can't let this past weekend keep us elated for too long but we relish it today," said goalkeeper Jacob McPhee. "We'll need to focus on our next match against Queens this coming weekend and not worry about what lies after that. We do this and we have good chance at success for the rest of the season!"
Both Excalibur soccer teams now sit in top spot in the OUA East division, heading into next week's action with a 2-0 record.
On the rugby pitch, the Excalibur rugby teams began their season on the road. The women's rugby team got off to an exciting first game after two years away, taking 5-0 lead in the first half against the Waterloo Warriors and never looking back. In the end, the women's rugby team will return home with a 22-7 victory. With the victory, the team looks forward to next weekend, where they will host the Western Mustangs at Justin Chiu Stadium for their 2021 home opener.
"This past weekend was a great start to what's hopefully a dominant season," said Amanda MacCarthy. "Our scrums were a huge asset for us and we were able to identify areas for improvement. Our home opener on October 2nd will be a big challenge for us but we're so excited to play in front of a home crowd."
The men's rugby team made their way to Hamilton for their season opening match against the McMaster Marauders. In the end, it was the Marauders claiming the win, handing the Excalibur team their first loss of the season, 29-7.
In what could be a championship matchup, the defending OUA lacrosse champions hosted the Queen's Gaels in a highly anticipated doubleheader. While the Excalibur kept it close, it would be the visiting Gaels who would sweep the doubleheader matchup, winning with scores of 10-7 and 13-7.
The men's lacrosse team returned to Justin Chiu Stadium for their home opener, hosting the Nipissing Lakers for CUFLA regular season action. Like their first game, the men's lacrosse team showed off their offensive talents scoring 19 times versus the Lakers, claiming the 19-10 win and now sit atop the CUFLA Central division with an undefeated 2-0 record.
Last but not least, the Excalibur rowing team set boats into the water this weekend at the Head of the Rideau Regatta and came out with four podium finishes. Standout Grace Vandenbroek showed her racing form on Sunday, rowing to a first place finish in the women's 1x event while Rosalyn Shepherd and Petra Plat Dekoter placed 1-2 in the women's lightweight 1x event. The women's 2x boat of Brianna Tombs and Taylor Bryan continued the podium trent in Ottawa winning their event, before the men's duo of Josh Hettinga and Simon Grasdal did the same in the men's junior varsity 2x race.
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