Fleming men come up short in rugby semi
Hopes of improving on their 2016 OCAA silver medal were dashed for the Fleming Knights’ men’s rugby team on Saturday.
A second half comeback fell just short as the Knights lost 22-19 to the Sheridan Bruins in semifinal action at the Fleming Sports Field Complex.
The Knights will play for the bronze medal in Barrie next weekend against the Georgian Grizzlies. The Grizzlies, who beat Fleming in last year’s gold medal game, were upset 28-24 by the St. Lawrence Vikings who will visit Sheridan for the gold.
The Knights outscored Sheridan 19-3 in the second half but were undone by a 19-0 first half deficit. A penalty kick by Sheridan’s Jad Hamade with 12 minutes left to play proved to be the difference as Patrick Santos drew Fleming within three points in the game’s final seconds. Duncan White and Brandon Vanstone also scored tries for Fleming while Alessandro Geraldo booted two converts.
“(Sheridan) have a lot of high level talent,” said Knights’ coach Aaron Stinchcombe.
“They have some good players on that team and we knew it was going to be a tough game. We played well in the first 10 minutes but we sort of dropped off for the last part of the first half and gave up too many points. We knew we were still in the game but to overcome 19-0 is tough. The guys played hard, we just made one more mistake than they did.”
It was a tough day for Fleming rugby on home turf as the women’s team missed out on a medal with two losses in three games while hosting the OCAA sevens championship earlier in the day.
“it’s tough to win a medal in this league so even the fact we have a chance at a bronze is still, in my books, a successful season,” said Stinchcombe. “Last year the women won the gold and we won the silver and played Georgian right to the last play but the program is still going places. I can’t say that just because the women didn’t win a medal or we’re playing for bronze it’s not a disappointment. The program is still getting good players and good talent here.”
It was a historic win for Sheridan who started a program six years ago and hadn’t made the playoffs until this year. Now they’ll host a gold medal game.
Sheridan head coach Rick Bria said his thoughts were with the program’s first head coach Carlos Moniz who he worked alongside until this year when Moniz stepped down and Bria took over. It’s been a slow, steady climb for the team, he said.
“This is by far the most talented group of athletes I have coached,” said Bria. “This is big for our program. Prior to this season we had never made the playoffs. We knew Fleming was going to be a tough game and our guys came ready and prepared.”
Matt DaCosta had two tries for Sheridan and John Paul Munro one with Hamade also adding two converts.
This is by far the most talented group of athletes I have coached. This is big for our program. Prior to this season we had never made the playoffs. We knew Fleming was going to be a tough game and our guys came ready and prepared.” Rick Bria