Senior Girls Soccer
The SMUS Senior Girls Soccer team scored seven times while surrendering only one goal during two Lower Island Tier 1 league road wins this past week, moving its first-place record to 3-0.
On Tuesday, Mackenna Brown had two goals while singles game from Avery Geddes and Joss Olcen as the Blue Jags beat host Lambrick Park 4-0 at Tyndall Turf. Indigo Edgington recorded the shutout in goal for SMUS.
The Blue Jags followed that up with a 3-1 win over the Claremont Spartans on Thursday. Olcen led the way with a pair of goals while Julia Rothwell had the other SMUS marker.
The Senior Girls will play host to Oak Bay on Tuesday (April 8) in another league game at 3:45 pm. The Blue Jags will also take part in the annual Vikes Invitational tournament this coming Thursday and Friday at UVic.
Junior Girls Soccer
The SMUS Junior Girls Soccer team parlayed a fast start into a solid 3-0 win over visiting Spectrum in Lower Island league action last Thursday.
The Junior Jags got a pair of goals in the first eight minutes of the match from Fiona Davison and Clara Pressello. Elspeth Rodger popped in a third marker for SMUS just before the end of the first half, and Linn Kuepper recorded the shutout in net.
“The win was a nice team effort, with all members contributing to the victory,” said Coach Samantha Butler.
The Junior Girls, 1-1 in league so far, will play host to Belmont this Thursday (April 10) at 3:45 pm.
Senior Boys Rugby
The Senior Boys Rugby team delivered a fine performance last Thursday afternoon, securing a 36-0 victory over a feisty Mount Douglas side in what was the first home game for the Rams in recent memory.
With a number of interested Mount Douglas athletes sitting in the bleachers and looking to get a sense of what rugby is all about, the Rams delivered, with a strong outing of their own, showcasing their size and physicality against a fast-paced SMUS backline and some large Blue Jag bodies.
Early pressure from the SMUS defence resulted in a quick turnover but, in a trend that played out all afternoon, the ball seemed to want to get back into the Rams’ hands as quickly as possible with multiple knock-ons slowing down promising attacking pressure. A stolen scrum inside the 22 saw Ewan Webber-Smith rumble over for the first try of the game. Jack Driscoll converted.
Some dominant tackling by the SMUS forwards and sustained pressure on attack resulted in a try for Braxton Lechner a few minutes later. A promising dart through the back line had the Rams sniffing at the line, but they were unable to capitalize on their attack with a missed kick for touch giving possession back to SMUS.
The try of the game came from a SMUS line out on its own 40. With a layered attack, the Blue Jags got the ball wide and Quinn McMeekin dotted it down after a 50-meter gallop. Henry Williamson added the conversion. One more try from Tristan Mo, converted by Williamson, left the score 26-0 at half.
The second half continued to be a bruising affair with lots of strong tackling from both sides. Dangerous runs from the Rams’ Conor Poulin and strong carrying from Mount Doug’s man of the match, Connor Steves, and the rest of the forwards kept SMUS on the back foot for sustained phases and kept the fans entertained.
SMUS was able to get across twice more before the final whistle with tries from Sebastien Allard and Marcus Lam (both unconverted), behind the strong running of Teigan Wippell and the excellent passing of Dani Pelyhe.
Earning man of the match honours for SMUS were Driscoll and Allard.
“It was a treat to see the renascent Rams playing on their home turf and there is no doubt that, as the season progresses and they gain more playing experience, this will be a difficult team to play against,” said SMUS Coach Clayton Daum. “It is wonderful to see the spirit of the game alive and well with post-game thank-yous and a combined team photo. It feels like rugby is alive and well.”
Both the SMUS Senior and Junior Boys will travel to Alberni District Secondary for games this Thursday. The Senior Boys will play host to a touring side from England’s Uxbridge College on Sunday, beginning at 1 pm.
Girls Rugby 7s
The SMUS Girls Rugby 7s squad resumed its Lower Island schedule with a pair of exhibition losses last Friday at Oak Bay.
In their opener, the Blue Jags fell 31-19 to Bemont. Sonia Naimi, Molly Gramada and Maria Garcia scored tries for SMUS while Kai Ross contributed two conversions.
Making their debut for the Blue Jags in this game were Valentina Elizalde Olea, Ashley Baek and Jasmin So.
“The girls displayed an incredible work rate, particularly from Maria, making huge hits to scoring a 50-meter try,” said Coach Ian Farish. “Impressive skills were also shown by Jasmin under the high ball, Val through contact, and Kai’s kicking.”
In its second match of the day, SMUS dropped a 15-10 decision to Oak Bay, with tries by Elizalde Olea and Mia Wong. Molly Pollock made her debut with some huge hits, and veteran Gramada also contributed some impressive hits.
“Overall, it was a very close game with SMUS coming back to win the second half with no scores against,” Farish said. “Also worth noting, a 60-meter try for Valentina and exciting impact from Juniors Naimi, Wong, Peyton Driscoll, Nya Tsang, Savannah Ferguson and Abby Farish.”
This week, SMUS hosts a Junior Girls jamboree on Monday (April 7) at 3:45 pm and the Senior Girls play another round of games on Friday at Esquimalt, starting at 3 pm.
Track and Field
The SMUS Track and Field team kicked off its season at the first Lower Island league meet last Wednesday, with more than 20 Blue Jag athletes competing in a number of events.
Outstanding performances from SMUS competitors included Amelie Fleck in the 200-, 800-, and 3,000-metres; Beatrice Sharp in the 3,000 and 800; Parker Sheehan in the 200, Josh Hobbs in the 800, Will Hamilton in the 300 hurdles, Adam Zilber in the 200, Caitlyn Chen and Tommy Hong in long jump, and Finlay Hlannon in the 400 hurdles.
SMUS athletes will compete in the second Lower Island league meet this Wednesday at UVic.
SMUS Athletes of the Month
A pair of basketball standouts have been honoured as SMUS Athletes of the Month for February/March.
Avery Geddes, a senior point guard, capped off her high school hoops career by winning tournament MVP honours as she led the Blue Jags to their first-ever BC AA Championship in the Langley Events Centre. Geddes scored 25 points while providing rock-solid ballhandling and astute floor leadership in a 62-54 title-game win over Holy Cross.
Dani Pelyhe, a Grade 11 guard with the Senior Boys, stepped up when his team needed it most, providing dynamic scoring and playmaking. He was named a second-team BC AA Championship all-star after helping the Blue Jags to a sixth-place finish, including a 26-point effort in a hard-fought quarterfinal loss to Kamloops Westsyde.
