CDS senior girls’ team clinches first place

May 21, 2014 · 0 Comments

By Jeff Doner
After a stellar season on the field, the Country Day School senior girls rugby team once again clinched first place in the CISAA division 1 standings with a dominant 33-5 win over Trinity College at Hawksworth Field last Wednesday.
The win gave them a 3-1 record on the season and has given CDS the home field advantage for a rematch in the finals against Trinity College this Friday.
“It was really exciting for us, because we really wanted to come out and play a disciplined game,” said Grade 11 student McKinley Hunt after the game. “The fact that we lost a close game to them last week 22-21 and their one of our biggest rivals, we also really wanted to send a message to them and say, ‘you can beat us, but you’re not going to beat us on our home turf.’”
CDS controlled the pace throughout the game despite receiving a number of penalties.
“Some of those things can’t be helped, but I really felt like everything was starting to click and we were running the system that we wanted to play, everyone was touching the ball,” McKinley said. “Overall it was a good game.”
Hunt scored one try for CDS, while Ashleigh Calvert (2 tries), Rachel Wong and Jess Schnabel also scored to pace a potent offense that was in control for most of the game.
CDS converts were kicked by Olivia Hallis and Rachel Wong with two each.
Head coach Dave Downer said he could tell his team was ready to play and erase the loss to Trinity College from the week prior.
“They worked really hard this week and fixed their play up. These are kids that play with a lot of heart,” he said. “They basically corrected everything from the last game and played as a team and not individuals.”
Downer said in the difference in this game was that CDS brought the pressure and gave the opposition no time to think.
For the finals, he wants his team to keep pushing the ball forward and again play the majority of the game in their end. He also gave credit to the team’s veterans.
“Our senior players really stepped up and the leadership was pretty clear today and they were telling the people where they wanted to go,” he said. “They were running the field as opposed to running around the field.”