The division two women’s Sturgeon Spirits ended their regular season a perfect 5-0 with a commanding 68-12 victory over the second place Paul Kane Blues.
The Spirits (265 PF/63 PA) ran mainly uncontested throughout the season, with their narrowest margin of victory being a 23-point spread against Beaumont (30-7), and W.P. Wagner (40-17). Sturgeon is hoping to avoid a repeat of last year, as they went undefeated in the regular season, but lost their first playoff game against W.P. Wagner 34-12.
“The girls came out really strong against Paul Kane,” said assistant coach Tricia Hamm. “We had talked about our level of intensity coming into the game and I feel like they took that to heart and came out quite hard in the first. It was a well fought game.”
Sturgeon’s strong third quarter, which quashed any chance of a comeback by the Blues, really speaks to the mental fortitude that the team possesses.
“I think in the third quarter the girls realized they weren’t playing to the level that they can play,” Hamm said. “The girls were aware of that and talked about it at half time, and it was noticeable. I was very proud of them.”
For the Spirits, it has been their speed that has made them unstoppable in regular season play so far.
“We’re strong and fast this year, when we get the ball out to our back line and start running those tries in, that has really made the difference for us.”
The team’s depth and experience has also been a contributing factor in the team’s success this year. The amount of returning players from last year’s 5-0 squad has made a difference.
“We have a lot of experience on the field, there’s only three new players on the senior team this year,” Hamm said.
Sturgeon has scored the largest amount of points in the division by far, garnering 265 points in five games, a full 137 more than second place Paul Kane, while allowing only 63 points against. W.P. Wagner, the next closest team, has allowed 118 and Paul Kane 119.
Sturgeon will play fourth place Harry Ainlay in the semi finals on Monday, which marks their second meeting of the year. The first on May 12, saw Sturgeon walk away with a decisive 75-15 win. Harry Ainlay punched their ticket into the post season with a win in their final game of the season on Thursday, beating W.P. Wagner 32-19. The game is set for Monday at 4:45 at St. Albert Rugby Club.
Hamm is ensuring that the girls aren’t taking anything for granted going into Monday’s semi-final matchup.
“Right now that’s our biggest goal, we’re against some tough competitors out there, so we need to keep our head in the game and make sure we stay focused on our training.” Hamm said.
Despite the lopsided victories, Hamm knows that you can’t take any team for granted. “We had to fight hard for every win in every single game,” she said.
