Varsity Sports
Three varsity teams have started OUA league play. Click on to the OUA section for scores for (W) & (M) soccer; and the (m) rugby team.
Basketball & Volleyball will be starting up league play soon – Check out the OUA schedules
Check for upcoming games in your area!
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RMC Women’s Soccer takes on the British Army Women’s Team on Navy Bay, 18 Oct 2010.
RMC Hosts British Army Women’s Football Association
The Women’s Soccer program hosted the British Army Women’s Football team on Monday October 18. The British team is on a short visit to Canada having also played two civilian teams in the greater Toronto area earlier in the week in preparation for their match versus RMC. Although not ideal for RMC to play a third game in three days, the program was not going to turn down the chance to play a foreign service team as these opportunities are far and few between.
Our visitors arrived at 1500hrs on Monday and were given a tour by Ross MacKenzie (RMC curator) along with some of the members of the RMC team. Special thanks to Mr. MacKenzie for taking time to give the British Army team a look and insight at the history of RMC and the campus. After the tour, the remainder of the RMC team and staff joined the British side for a pre-game meal at the Cadet dining hall. The teams sat together and exchanged their military, academic and soccer experiences while the teams’ staff discussed their appreciation of the game to follow.
Once the meal was over, both teams headed to the Birchall Pavillion to prepare for the game. Thanks to the RMC rugby team, who cleared out their changeroom to allow our guests to have a proper area for the day. The RMC band gave excellent randitions of the respective national anthems and the game was set to kick-off in front of a boisturous crowd.
RMC got off to a quick start, scoring in the 5th minute of play. First-year defender Lisa Udegbunam played a long ball into Michelle Hamilton who in turn layed a ball off to fourth-year Laura Gray. Hamilton made a strong run and Gray played a well weighted pass that Hamilton ran on to and fired low and hard. Her shot beat the outstretched British goalkeeper, Roxy Roberts, into the bottom corner to please the home team supports shortly after kick-off.
As the half wore on, the British Army team started to carry more of the play with clever passing and good movement. The visitors missed two opportunities to find an equalizer. First it was Rachel Wheatman missing from six yards out before Maria Beaney shot was smartly saved by RMC’s goalkeeper Kelly Milliken. RMC looked set to carry a one goal lead into the half, but the British side pulled level two minutes before the break. A quick ball over the top of the RMC defenders allowed Helen Lee to break in and lift the ball over Milliken, who come out to challenge bringing the match tied 1-1 at the half.
In the second half the competitive nature of the match moved to a higher level. Both sides were flying into tackles, taking physical risks trying to seek an advantage. The winning goal came in the 65th minute as Grace Irvine intercepted an RMC clearance and let loose a thunderous strike from 26 yards out. Her shot beat RMC’s goalkeeper Olivia Clarke, who came on at the half, to give the visitors a 2-1 lead. Clarke kept the home team within reach of tying the game as she made key saves against Beaney twice and Lee.
With three minutes to play, the British Army were on the end of some good fortune as off of one of their corner-kicks, RMC scored an own-goal stretching the lead to 3-1. But the Paladins did not back down and had two great chances to close the margin. First, Hamilton flicked a ball onto Victoria Clouthier’s smart run down the left side. Clouthier crossed the ball in quickly into the path of Kim Archibald and her low hard shot was spectacularly saved by Roberts. On the ensuing corner-kick, Lyndsay Cross rose to meet Stephanie Bengle service but the second-year defender’s attempt missed the goal.
The final whistle came shortly after and the British Army came away with a 3-1 win. Afterwards, both teams went up to the Birchall Pavillion to enjoy some post-game food and beverages. The teams and their staffs discussed the competitive and enjoyable match. RMC women’s soccer owes a great deal to Lieutenant Maria Beaney of the British Army team who was the lead in coordinating with us the opportunity for this match. Also thanks to their Chairwoman, Lieutenant-Colonel Alison Curnow whose support for the British Army team made the trip possible.
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OUA Cross-Country Championship 30th Oct 2010:
A summary of events leading up to the Championship
The RMC running team started of the season with a strong showing at Canada’s Army Run. After almost missing the race due to a few registration issues, on the morning of the 16th of September, the team was on the line and ready to go. The summer training proved effective, the teams, led by John Marshall (24979) and CJ Best (24927) who both finished 7th overall, at respectively, 16:14 and 18:44, in the 5km event. But, the team captain’s were closely followed by team mates Richard Hayes (25467) and Marina Lowthian (25594), who both finished in 8th, setting the stage for what has become a season long battle for dominance. In the team competition, RMC running applied total dominance: the men’s teams, TRUTH and DUTY, finished first and second in the military men category (for the second year in a row). The women’s team, VALOUR, took first in the military women category and the open military teams, INTEGRITY and LOYALTY, also, took first and second in their category.
The next race, the Western International Meet, in London Ontario, held every year on the last weekend of September, is remembered for its gruelling hills. But, the many hours previously spent on repeats of Fort Henry Hill under the supervision of new head coach Wayne Bulack were to be useful. The Women’s race, one 5 km loop of the course, saw Marina Lowthian and CJ Best race neck in neck, with Lowthian pulling ahead in the last 500m to a 41st place finish. From the start of the men’s two loop (10km) race, it seemed from John Marshall’s early surge that he would lead the team. But, a very determined Richard Hayes challenged the infamous RMC running champion in the second lap, defeating him and placing 60th. Hot on their tale, was Eric Henderson (25191), running a new PB for the course and finishing in 91st. The day ended with awards, pizza and the announcing of the RMC Women in 10th place (of 12) and the RMC Men in 11th place (of 13): each team having beat two OUA schools. The early improvements already apparent in both teams much lower point count from previous years brought great excitement to the running community at RMC.
No rest was afforded to the teams as they made a day trip on October 2nd to Waterloo for a short and flat, and thus fast race. While Kingston was sunny at their departure, upon arrival at the race site, proper cross-country weather prevailed: rainy cold. The women were up first, but unfortunately Marina Lowthian was not on the line. While CJ Best led the way, finishing 17th overall, Mary Sun (25077) stepped up to the challenge of replacing her absent team mate, coming in 45th. With her, working their way from the back to the front was Grace Higgins (USAFA), losing sight of Sun in the last couple hundred meters, but breaking the top 50 mark by placing 49th. As the downpour worsened, the gun went off for the men’s race, with Richard Hayes aggressively fighting to stay within the top 10. But John, taking his time, slowly caught up over the next 4 loops, edging just in front for 13th and 14th place finishes. The third place battle was between Donald Saul (24995) and David Bernatchez (24718), which was won by the latter in the final sprint, but both can attribute their top 40 finishes to teamwork on the course. Final team standings for the day put the Women 4th place, just ahead of Brock and the Men in 5th place, beating York, Brock and Conestoga.
After a weekend off dedicated to the consumption of turkey, the team prepared for their “Home” opener: the Queens Open on Fort Henry Hill. Comfortable with every hole on the track, Marina Lowthian ran enthusiastically from start to finish, unfortunately narrowly missing the top 15 bracket (coming in 18th place) to athletes with stronger finishing kicks. CJ Best, hoping to conclude a week of tiredness, but knowing her team mates depended on her, ran a steady race. Emilie Beland (25060), missing her race partner, Mary Sun, due to injury, effectively adjusted her pace mid race to finish 60th. The men’s race plan focused on working together through the first half of the 10km course, with those who felt good breaking away in the second. This adjustment in strategy favoured Richard Hayes, who placed a strong 34th, but left John in between packs to finish in 46th. Donald Saul surging in the final lap, placed 59th, breaking the 34 minute mark last Saturday, with help from team mate Eric Henderson, finishing just 3 seconds behind him. The Queen’s Open proved to be a good day for the Paladins with the Women’s team placing 5th of 10, and the Men’s team placing 6th of 11 OUA teams.
With no set trend on individual finishes, one must wonder who will lead the Men and Women’s teams at the OUA championship next weekend, in Guelph Ontario. While passed success does not guarantee future success, hard work serves as a good indicator of it, so check out next week’s E-Veritas to find out how many Universities the RMC Running team vanquishes at OUA’s!
Are you an RMC Running team Alumni looking for more information about, or to get back involved with the program? If so, please email OCdt. CJ Best at s24927@rmc.ca for more information.