Loyalist Lancers Weekend Wrap

It was another busy weekend for the Loyalist Lancers, highlighted by a perfect weekend for women’s rugby, record-setting performances on the cross-country course and exhibition action on the basketball court.

The Lancers continued their incredible unbeaten run, going a perfect 4-0 on the weekend while putting up an impressive 93 points across four games. With the sweep, Loyalist improves to 7-0 on the season.

The Lancers opened with a dominant 40-5 win over the Georgian Grizzlies, with tries from Evelyn Shakell, Rowynn Cochrane, Mayan Mackinnon, Kaydin Brooks and two from Faith Ayres. Ayres added four converts for an 18-point performance, while Molly Pieroway also recorded a convert.

Loyalist followed that up with a 21-14 victory over Conestoga, with Shakell, Mackinnon and Riley Murray finding the try zone and Ayres adding all three converts.

The winning continued with a hard-fought 10-5 victory over Humber on Sunday, thanks to tries from Ayres and Mackinnon, before the Lancers wrapped up the weekend with a 22-7 win over Seneca. Lyola Brownlee, Ayres, Jessie Prevost and Mackinnon each recorded tries, with Ayres adding a convert.

Ayres finished a standout weekend with 36 total points, while Mackinnon crossed the try line in all four games.

The Lancers hit the trails at the Fanshawe Invitational, getting another strong race under their belts as the season continues. With Fanshawe set to host the OCAA Provincial Championship later this month, the Invitational gave the team a valuable opportunity to race the championship course and prepare for what’s ahead.

The Lancers men put together a strong showing, finishing 8th overall, led by another record-setting performance from Michael Griepsma.

Griepsma crossed the line in 28:18 to finish 11th overall, bettering his own Lancer course record by an incredible 1 minute, 23 seconds and solidifying the No. 1 spot on the Lancers’ all-time finishes for the course.

Jaxen Fluke finished 30th in 30:19, good for the second-fastest Lancer performance all-time on the course.

Making his Lancer debut, Andrew Francioni crossed the line 52nd in 33:18, immediately earning a spot as the 10th all-time Lancer performer on the course. Ian Quilty finished 62nd in 35:27, while Christopher Menard placed 66th in 37:54.

On the women’s side, August Down was the lone female Lancer runner and finished the court in 39th-place with a time of 33:25.

Net up: The Lancers are bringing the action home! On October 16, the cross-country team will host its own invitational at Dunnett’s Orchard in Brighton.

The Lancers opened the weekend under the lights Friday night against the George Brown Huskies, falling 6-0.

Despite the result, Lauren Reid continued to demonstrate her ability in goal, making key saves throughout the match and continuing a strong individual season between the posts.

The Lancers returned to action on a cold and rainy Sunday afternoon against Lakehead Orillia. Lakehead struck early, but Reid once again came up with several important saves. Lakehead banked two more to push to a 3-0 final.

The Lancers head to Peterborough Wednesday, October 7th to take on the Fleming Phoenix.

Both Lancer basketball programs finished the weekend 1-1 in exhibition play.

The women battled the Humber Hawks in a hard-fought loss on Friday before bouncing back in dramatic fashion Saturday, earning a buzzer-beater victory over the Lambton Lions.

The men also split their weekend, falling to Lambton on Friday before responding with a victory over Sherbrooke on Saturday.

Both teams will continue exhibition play in preparation for the regular-season opener on Friday, October 23, when the women tip off at 6 p.m., followed by the men at 8 p.m.