The women’s rugby team spoiled Trent University’s Homecoming last Friday night.

Queen’s scored early and often, defeating the Trent Excalibur 55-8 and preserving their perfect record at 5-0. The Gaels had tries from nine different players.

Head coach Beth Barz was impressed with her team’s balanced attack, but hopes to see improvement on overall ball security.

“[The] first half was pretty consistent — our attack was pretty good,” Barz said. “We did have a number of dropped balls — I think seven — that were catchable but we just didn’t hang on to.”

With the win, Queen’s clinches first overall in the OUA Russell Division and a bye to the semifinals. The seeding makes the CIS championships a likely reality, as both OUA finalists qualify for nationals.

Despite its implications, Barz feels the victory will change very little to the team’s overall mentality.

“I think in past years it might have been a mental boost,” Barz said. “This year we’ve just been plugging away in every game and expecting to win.”

“I’m not sure it’s changed our psyche in any way.”

The Gaels rested some starters, opting to give their bench some playing time. The strategy allows them to have more depth moving into the upcoming post-season.

“We had a couple [players] get an opportunity to dress and see the field,” Barz said. “It didn’t really change our attack at all, and defensively we looked pretty good through most of the game.”

“We were [also] trying to give some girls an opportunity to see the field, get some feedback and know what to work on in the offseason.”

The regular season wraps up on Friday at home against the York Lions (3-2).