Men’s rugby victory against RMC sees first-round playoff bye

The men’s rugby team ended their regular season on a strong note with a 45-19 win against the RMC Paladins, securing their spot as the number two ranked team in the OUA. The team finished their season with a 6-1-1 record, falling only once early in the season to the top team in the OUA, the Guelph Gryphons. 

The Gaels were a dominant offensive force this season, finishing with 320 points in just eight games, largely thanks to the scoring efforts of Kainoa Lloyd, Dylan Young and Nicholas DeLallo. 

The biggest competitor the Gaels will face in the playoffs will be the undefeated Gryphons. The Gaels have a history of losing to the Gryphons during the regular season and then coming back to defeat them in the playoffs, so the OUA playoffs will likely yield an intensely-fought match between the two. 

Due to the team’s victory against the Paladins, the Gaels earned a bye and will have a two-week break before they go directly to the OUA semi-finals, playing at Nixon Field on November 5. 

Women’s rugby drops playoff game to Guelph, faces Mustangs for Bronze

The women’s rugby team fell 37-0 in the OUA semi-finals to the nationally ranked number two Guelph Gryphons, ending their chance at OUA gold. The last time the seventh-ranked Gaels faced the Gryphons, it was on the Gaels’ home turf and resulted in a 50-5 tricolour loss. Failing to make the OUA final, Queen’s misses out on the opportunity to defend their CIS silver medal from last year.

The Gaels will face the Western Mustangs on October 29 in London to battle for the OUA bronze medal.

Like the Gaels, the Mustangs finished regular season with a 3-2 record. However, the Mustangs pale in comparison to the Gaels’ offensive and defensive statistics, with 173 points-for compared to the Gaels’ 220 and 139 points-against compared to the Gaels’ 92. 

This will be a rematch of the 2015 OUA bronze medal game, which the Gaels lost 20-10. The Gaels have yet to face the Mustangs this season.

Women’s soccer head into OUA playoffs on three game winning streak

The women’s soccer team defeated the Laurentian Voyageurs 2-0 on Sunday to end their largely-dominant season on a strong note and secure a bye through the first round of the OUA playoffs. They will have a weeklong break before returning to home turf to play in the OUA quarterfinals on October 30.   

The women’s team finished second in the OUA East during the regular season, with an 11-4-1 record. Defensively, the Gaels’ had an incredibly strong season with only 11 points-against, the second lowest in the OUA East. Thanks to the team’s fifth year keeper Madison Tyrell, the Gaels had 10 games in which they shutout their opponent and a goals-against average of 0.70. 

The team is looking to have a repeat of last year’s success, when they won the 2015 OUA championship and placed fifth at the CIS national championships.

Men’s soccer gets home field advantage in first round of OUA playoffs

The men’s soccer team followed the suit with their female counterparts, defeating the Laurentian Voyageurs 2-0 on Sunday afternoon. After an up-and-down season, the team is currently ranked fourth in the OUA East, with an overall record of 7-5-4. 

The Gaels ended their season with 39 goals-for, thanks largely to the scoring power of players like Jacob Schroeter and Patrick van Bellegham, who combined for 15 of the team’s scores. 

The men’s team will face the Voyageurs again on Oct. 26 to start the OUA playoffs. Both matches between the OUA East fourth-ranked Gaels and fifth-ranked Voyageurs this season have resulted in a Queen’s victory.

Men’s hockey sweeps road weekend

After relying on goalie Kevin Bailie to make 44 saves in their 3-0 victory against Laurentian on Friday, the men’s hockey team scored four goals to beat Nipissing 4-2 on Saturday.

While the Gaels were held to 25 shots against Laurentian, the team made the most of them. Goals by Ryan Bloom, Patrick Downe and Eric Ming were the difference, as Kevin Bailie was the defensive leader in the shutout. 

With his empty net goal in the dying moments of the first game, Ming leads the OUA with six goals through the first five games of the season.

On the next night in North Bay, the Gaels offense ignited once again. Forward Franseco Vilardi opened the scoring for the Gaels, and following a Nipissing goal, Slatter Dogget added another in the second period to re-take the lead. Even though Nipissing tied the game at 2-2 by the end of the second, Queen’s would prevail.

Goals by Peter Angelopolous and Darcy Greenway sealed the victory, putting Queen’s at fourth in the OUA East. Up next they face RMC on Wednesday.

Women’s hockey splits games in away weekend

During their first game of the weekend, the women’s hockey team relied on goalie Stephanie Pascal, as she completed her second-straight shutout in the Gaels 2-0 win over Laurier.

Goals by Addi Halladay and Emily Jukosky provided the Gaels with the upper hand, as both teams registered 31 shots on net.

In their Sunday game, Queen’s was blown out 6-0. While Queen’s only mustered 15 shots on net, the Waterloo Warriors managed 39, scoring two goals per period against the Gaels.

After splitting games in their home-opening weekend and their first on the road, Queen’s sits at seventh in the OUA. They will play Toronto and Guelph at home this upcoming weekend.