CALGARY – The University of Alberta Pandas opened a brand new chapter in the university-level Battle of Alberta Friday afternoon in their first-ever CIS rugby match against the Calgary Dinos, dominating from start to finish en route to a 71-0 victory.
The win keeps the Pandas perfect at 3-0 on the season and sets up a first-place showdown against the Lethbridge Pronghorns Sunday afternoon in Lethbridge. The Dinos, meanwhile, failed to register a point for the fourth straight game and wrap up their inaugural Canada West season at 0-4.
Despite the lopsided score, Calgary head coach Jenny Vincent was positive about her team's progress through its first season of CIS play.
“I really think we have the start of a framework here with our brand new varsity program, and now it's a matter of filling in the areas that need work,” said the former Canadian national team member. “We have all learned a lot this year, and I think our girls showed a lot of heart today under tough conditions. We stayed positive, and we kept tackling for the full 80 minutes.”
After a week of wacky autumn weather in Calgary, the teams played on a snow-covered pitch that was mid-melt, making for sloppy wet and muddy conditions.
The fifth-ranked Pandas broke through the initial surge by the Dinos, who were playing their first-ever home game, and got on the board quickly on a try by Katerri Footz, one of two on the day for her. Harriet Halse added two more in the next 14 minutes, and the outcome was never in doubt from there.
After taking a 29-0 lead into the half, Alberta exploded for six more tries in the second 40 minutes, adding converts by Megan Lauer on all six of them to run the score all the way up to 71-0.
Stacie Becker, Alicea Sliwkanich, Melaina Weiss, Erika Strande, Keryl George, and Janine Martin all scored single tries for the Pandas, with Strande booting two converts in the first half while Lauer went a perfect six-for-six on convert attempts in the second half.
While the Pandas get set for a battle with the 'Horns Sunday afternoon in Lethbridge, the Dinos will begin to build the program for the 2010 season.
“We really thought we could have had that game in Victoria (a 5-0 loss),” said Vincent, “but that's all part of the learning experience. We've stayed positive throughout some tough games, which is really hard to do, and the girls still enjoy playing the game. I'm excited for next year already.”
SCORING SUMMARY
8:00 UA #12 Footz, 5-0
12:00 UA #6 Halse (13 Strande convert), 12-0
22:00 UA #6 Halse, 17-0
26:00 UA #5 Weiss, 22-0
36:00 UA #13 Strande (13 Strande convert), 29-0
48:00 UA #1 Becker (23 Lauer convert), 36-0
53:00 UA #14 Telidetzki (23 Lauer convert), 43-0
58:00 UA #24 Martin (23 Lauer convert), 50-0
63:00 UA #12 Footz (23 Lauer convert), 57-0
67:00 UA #20 George (23 Lauer convert), 64-0
72:00 UA #3 Sliwkanich (23 Lauer convert), 71-0
GAME STATS
Tries: Stacie Becker, Alicea Sliwkanich, Melaina Weiss, Harriet Halse (2), Katerri Footz (2), Erika Strande, Keryl George, Janine Martin
Converts: Erika Strande (2), Megan Lauer (6)
-UC-
