Canada West semifinal #2: Pandas slip past T-Birds to set up all-Alberta final

by Matt Gutsch, U of Alberta Sports Info

Alberta 19 UBC 15

First half
UBC-Penalty Goal-Michele Helmczi
AB-Try-Alicea Sliwkanich
Second half
AB-Try-Alison Lamoureux
AB-Convert-Miranda Monty
UBC-Penalty Try-Maggie Ritchie
AB-Try-Karlee Carbert
UBC-Try-Radha Jain

EDMONTON - Playing a playoff match on home field for the first time in six seasons, the Alberta Pandas rugby team overcame some early nerves to beat the UBC Thunderbirds 19-15 in the second semifinal of the Canada West championship, Friday afternoon at the Strathcona Rugby Club just outside of Edmonton.

Alberta, winners of five-straight CIS championships from 1999-2003, got tries from Allison Lamoureux, Alicea Sliwkanich, and Karlee Carbert while Miranda Monty added two converts.

The Thunderbirds got a penalty goal from Maggie Richie and a try from the speedy Radha Jain. Michele Helmeczi added one convert and one drop goal in the loss.

It was Helmeczi’s drop goal in the first five minutes of action that started the scoring, as the host Pandas took numerous penalties in the opening first half.

“I think the reason we took so many penalties in the first half was because of nerves,” said Alberta head coach Matt Parrish. “None of these girls have played a meaningful game like this at home and it really showed in our play, especially in the first half.”

However, 10 minutes after the game’s first points by UBC, the Pandas grabbed the lead and never looked back. Third-year prop and Fort Saskatchewan, AB native Alicea Sliwkanich gave the Pandas a 5-3 lead thanks to her try, a lead they would carry into the halftime break.

Lamoureux, a fifth-year prop from Winnipeg, opened that slim lead into a 10-3 advantage and Monty made it 12-3 with her first successful convert on the day.

UBC, already guaranteed a berth into the National championship tournament as hosts, clawed back into the contest when the referee awarded them a penalty goal midway through the second half. Richie, a fifth-year fullback from Vancouver, was given credit for the try, and Helmeczi added the convert for a 12-10 score.

With UBC applying solid pressure on attack and hampering the Alberta offence, third-year Edmonton native and Physical Education and Recreation student Karlee Carbert proved to be the difference-maker when she busted out a 40-yard run for a try.

The fullback was almost tackled on the play, but Carbert fought off the UBC defence, busted through the line, and sprinted 30-yards untouched to get over the touch line for the game winning point.

“That’s what Karlee gives us…that finish,” said Parrish. “She’s got great speed and is very good at hitting the holes. She got us the points we needed today and ended up being the difference.”

“Up until that point, personally, I was having a very frustrating game, and then it was sort of a lucky break for me that I was able to take advantage of,” said Carbert of her game-winning try. “Fortunately, they didn’t do a great job tackling me or holding me down, and that’s one of my strong points. If they don’t keep me down, I’m going to roll out of that tackle, and that’s what I did. After that, I think I caught them all a little flat-footed and was able to outrun them for the try.”

The game certainly didn’t end there though. The T-Birds added a late try to tighten up the score once more.

Jain, from Mississauga, Ont., and Canada’s U-20 team, had been terrorizing the Alberta defence all game long with her blazing speed and footwork in the open spaces. Every time she got her hands on the ball, she was a threat to make something happen, and finally converted one of the chances to make it 19-15 late in the second half.

Shortly after that try, the whistle went and sent the Pandas preparing for the conference title match against Lethbridge. Alberta and Lethbridge have met in six of the last eight Canada West title matches, and the Pronghorns will be going for their fourth-straight win. The last time these two titans met in Edmonton was at the 2003 CIS national championship final, which the Pandas won.

“We certainly didn’t play our best today,” noted Parrish. “We just made a lot of mistakes, and had some penalty trouble and nerves to overcome to start the match. Hopefully they’ve got that out of their system, and come Sunday, are prepared to give it all they’ve got and play the best rugby they can.”