Laurentian Voyageurs' women's flag football head coach Lance Patrie did not shy away from challenging his team at the recent Football Ontario Intercollegiate Women's Flag Football Championship in Peterborough.
After producing their "game of the year" in a 24-19 quarter-final win over the second ranked Guelph Gryphons, the Voyageurs would need to play even better in the semis.
In so doing and taking down a Western Mustangs squad that had beaten L.U. twice in the fall, the reward was a trip to nationals in Regina in May - not to mention the incredible sense of accomplishment that comes from really opening the eyes of university flag football diehards.
"I think everybody on the team, coaching staff and players, knew that we could do some damage at this tournament," noted Patrie, his team settling for silver following a loss in the final to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues - with the top three advancing to the Canadian showdown next month.
"I think we felt that we were going under the radar a little bit in terms of how other teams might have felt about us. We knew that it was a realistic goal to medal and earn a berth at nationals."
Posting a 2-1 record on opening day, the Voyageurs began their roll with a 20-14 win over the McMaster Marauders as Sydney Coe preserved the victory with an interception in the end zone on the final drive of the game.
The class of the OWIFA are the fall champion U of T crew and they showed it again in pool play, upending Laurentian 34-18 (a very respectable score, in the opinion of coach Patrie).
The locals returned the favour in game three with the Canadore Panthers on the receiving end as touchdowns from Kelly Clark, Maija Potvin and Hunter Brear powered L.U. to a 25-6 victory, with Adasyn Radey and Addison Elliott splitting the time at quarterback.
"We had a pretty successful round robin on Saturday but everybody knew that once that was done, it really did not matter any more," said Patrie. "We had to have a really good playoff Sunday - and our team came to play."
"There was an intensity and focus that we hadn't seen all year."
Laurentian never trailed in their back and forth affair with Guelph, a trend that was established early as Kelly Clark hauled in a touchdown pass to push the Sudbury reps ahead 6-0.
After the Gryphons pulled even, the Voyageurs countered with both the final score of the opening half (Clark - TD reception - 12-6) and the opening strike of the second half (Potvin - short TD run - 18-6).
Trading blows would work in favour of the blue and gold who went up 24-12 when Clark reached the end zone late for the third time in this contest before Guelph countered with one final major as time was elapsing.
With setbacks by scores of 14-8 and 20-0 to draw upon for motivation, the Laurentian ladies were well aware of the stakes facing Western. An early pick by Sydney Coe provided a little momentum but it would be the Mustangs who would break the ice on a passing TD.
Kelly Clark got that one back on the ensuing drive and after Western recorded a safety to make the score 9-7, Clark was at it again, allowing coach Patrie and company to head to the half leading 14-9.
A defensive battle ensued in the second half, the score remaining unchanged until there were roughly seven minutes to play when Clark hauled in yet another bullet from Elliott. Western answered with a long pass and run, with the scoreboard still reading 20-16 and time winding down.
A huge interception from Peyton Brear allowed the Laurentian offense to start a drive on the Western half of the field and on third and goal from the way, Elliott spotted Clark darting across the end zone for what would be the game-winning score.
The Mustangs put up one last seven-pointer with 11 seconds to play but the Vees were able to kneel it out, a 26-23 victory signaling an end goal (of nationals) that was reached.
"In the fall season, we felt that we left a lot on the table as far as what we could have done," sad Patrie. "There were games that we felt we could have won and the bounces just didn't go our way. And we made some improvements in our game."
A pair of winter tournament organized by Football Ontario in concert with the Detroit Lions opened the door to a little more growth.
"It allowed us to play some really good adult teams, which helped us maximize our potential by getting those continued reps, overall game experience."
A 34-6 loss in the final was not about to sour the day of a team that had battled so hard to reach that contest. "Unfortunately, we just ran out of gas in the finals," said Patrie. "There was just so much emotion and energy in that semi-final game."
"We tried as hard as we could to bring it back but you could just tell that we had left it all out there in the semi-final game."
Earning second team all-star designations for their efforts were Voyageurs' wide receiver Kelly Clark and defensive back Sydney Coe. The team will travel to Saskatchewan in early May as some 14 teams or so from across the country are expected to gather in Regina from the 2nd to the 4th.
Rounding out the Laurentian flag football roster are Mya Farmer, Zoe Rienguette, Chloe Rinaldi, Cayleigh Brûlé, Brooke Campeau, Jade Marriott, Clare McInroyKatie Miglioranza.
Joining Lance Patrie on the team coaching staff are Veronique St Jean, Brett Walter and Sports Psychology student Caleb Mangoff.
