Big weekend for 3 Trent Excalibur teams
Women’s field lacrosse team a contender at OUA championships while women’s rugby looks to level up and women’s soccer fights for a playoff spot
This is a big weekend for three Trent Excalibur women’s teams.
The Excalibur women’s lacrosse team is a serious medal threat at the OUA championships hosted by Ontario Tech in Oshawa. Women’s rugby is playing for promotion to the OUA’s Tier 1 Shiels Division. Women’s soccer is playing to clinch a playoff spot.
After winning a bronze medal as OUA championship hosts last year, Trent’s women’s lacrosse finished first in the East Division with a 12-1 record. It earned Trent a bye to the quarterfinals Friday night against the Guelph Gryphons. A result was not available at press time.
Excalibur head coach Tori Wasson said this year’s team is better than the one which lost a heartbreaking semifinal to the Laurier Golden Hawks last year. It’s the best team since their 2016 gold medal victory, and gold is their goal.
“After winning the bronze, we left the field very hungry for this year,” Wasson said.
“As coaches, we had a recruiting plan in mind. We got some really strong recruits with some great experience in terms of winning. We got some extra help from other coaches.”
They added Erica Evans and alumna Lexi Hill to the coaching staff along with goalie coach Kevin Segriff.
Avery DiGiorgio was the star recruit, leading them in scoring with 50 points in 13 games — one ahead of fourth-year veteran Leah Michel.
“We put a lot of pieces together we were really missing and what we needed to push to that gold medal game,” said Wasson.
Their lone loss was 15-12 to West Division champion Western Mustangs (13-0) who they wouldn’t meet until Sunday’s final.
“We have worked really hard to not peak early. We were building toward this weekend,” Wasson said.
“We took every competitor as an opportunity to learn and get better, and if a win came with that, great. We definitely learned a ton from our one loss, more than we could have winning. We’re taking all those lessons and putting them into this weekend.”
When Peter Hercus took over an Excalibur women’s rugby program that was winless in 2016, his goal was to build a program that could eventually reach Tier 1. Three years later, promotion is on the line when Trent (4-2) visit the York Lions Saturday at 1 p.m.
“We targeted getting to this game at the beginning of the season,” Hercus said. “We’ve been successful getting this far and we have a big challenge ahead of us.”
York won their previous meeting 17-7.
“We know we can play with them but we need to put a complete 80 minutes together,” he said.
Whether they get promoted this year or later, Hercus says the program is going in the right direction. “We have a lot more depth now,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of first years this year but some are very experienced players who are not 18 year olds, they’re 21, 22, even one is 27. There is some good seasoned, veteran club rugby players who have come in.”
Part of it is Hercus’ recruiting but he said players have helped recruit strong players from their hometowns. Trent can offer something elite programs can’t, he said.
“Do you want to go sit on the bench at Queen’s for three years until you play or do you want to be a starter for us,” he said. “That’s one of the things we have as a big advantage.”
Women’s soccer hosts Ontario Tech at 1 p.m. Saturday at Justin Chiu Stadium. They must win to clinch the final playoff spot.
Men’s rugby (2-3) is clinging to a playoff spot as they visit Queen’s Saturday to close out their season. Men’s soccer hosts Ontario Tech at 3 p.m. Saturday and Carleton at 3 p.m. Sunday to close out their season.