Canada win junior CanAm series 2-0

First Test: USA Collegiate All-Americans 10, Maple Leafs 15

Three tries in the final 10 minutes of the first half were enough for Canada’s U23s – the Maple Leafs – to beat their American age-group rivals, officially the “AIG Women's Collegiate All-Americans”.

The Maple Leafs got tries from Julia Goss, Elysa Sandron and Alanna Fittes in the final 10 minutes of the first half and defended diligently to hold on for a crucial series opening win.

Canada had nearly opened the scoring soon after the start when a forward pass ruled out a Collen Irowa try, before a 19th minute Tess Feury penalty put the USA ahead.

The in the 30th minute Edmonton’s Julia Goss was the beneficiary of some swift passing down the line to give Canada its first lead at 5-3.

Although another forward pass denied Amanda Williams a try, Canada soon added a second when Winnipeg’s Elysa Sandron barged her way through the US line in the 38th minute. The Maple leafs the finished the half with Alanna Fittes taking an offload from captain Lori Josephson, who had broken the All-Americans line, before racing home for a third try right at the break. 15-3 was the halftime score

The “All-Americans” were able to regroup at the break, keeping the visitors from adding to its lead, but without being able to breakthrough themselves before substitute Kaitlyn Broughton capitalized on her 13 minutes on the pitch to score the American’s only try three minutes from the end.

"We stopped playing for 20 minutes," US Head Coach Sue Whitwell said. "Our first 20 we had good structure, good go-forward. After 20 minutes we lost our ability to connect on defense, so once that broke it was three fast tries; the last time they scored.

"[At halftime there was] just a bit of reminding stuff they already knew, calming them down, reminding them what they're already good at and can do, and they went back out there the did that," Whitwell said. "We had a bit more composure, we stayed connected, we had some good go-forward, and then we really started to up the pace of play, started to run some more dynamic lines, and took more risks. It paid of for us.

"I am very happy with what I saw out there. We had a short period of time to learn some structure and connect with one another, so it's a great starting point. Now we can start polishing and executing."

AIG Women's Collegiate All-Americans:1. Rebekah Hebdon; 2. Bridget Kahele; 3. Azniv Nalbandian; 4. Haley Schafer; 5. Jennifer Johnson (C); 6. Yeja Dunn; 7. Frieda Fetu'u; 8. Ilona Maher; 9. Kat Ramage; 10. Gabby Cantorna; 11. Francesca Sands; 12. McKenzie Hawkins; 13. Sarah Buonpane; 14. Uzo Okoro; 15. Tess Feury16. Nicole Benedetti; 17. Danielle Ordway; 18. Kaityln Broughton; 19. Megan Rom; 20. Jessica Lewis; 21. Bailey Johnson; 22. Taylah Pipkin; 23. Lanoira Duhart; 24. Katie Loughran; 25. Elizabeth Rose; 26. Ally Day;

Maple Leafs:1. Colleen Irowa; 2. Kathleen Keller; 3. Chelsea Minter; 4. Emma Taylor; 5. Camille Provencal-Aube; 6. Katie Svboda; 7. Sara Svboda; 8. Daria Keane; 9. Lori Jospephson (C); 10. MacKenzie Higgs; 11. Elysa Sandron; 12. Julia Goss; 13. Amanda Williams; 14. Natasha Smith; 15. Alanna Fittes16. Simone Savory; 17. Megan Copeland-Dinan; 18. Brittany Kassil; 19. Gillian Boag; 20. Ngalula Fuamba; 21. Gaby Senft; 22. Justine Pelletier; 23. Jess Neilson; 24. Lisa Gauthier; 25. Petra Woods; 26. Gillian Allen

Second “test”: USA Collegiate All-Americans 13, Maple Leafs 45

If the first game was close, the next was far from it.  A Sara Svoboda hat-trick was the highlight as Canada ran in six tries (Julia Goss (2) and Petra Woods scored the rest) to beat the USA Collegiate All-Americans 45-13. Jess Neilson also kicked 15 points.

After Gabby Cantorna and Neilson swapped penalties inside the opening eight minutes, Canada grabbed the first try of the day as Goss, who was the beneficiary of a huge line break by Mackenzie Higgs, breezed in to give the Maple Leafs an 8-3 lead.

It was quickly 15-3 as after France were penalized at the breakdown, captain Lori Josephson tapped the penalty, offloaded to Svoboda who steamrolled her way to the try line for her first try of the day 13 minutes in.

Canada would take a 20-6 lead into the interval — Cantorna converting a second penalty in the 22nd minute — as Woods scored Canada’s third try of the half in the 31st minute after patiently waiting on the wing as Gabrielle Senft swung the ball wide.

The Maple Leafs came flying out of the gates in the second half as it took just two minutes for Goss to have her second try of the day as she split the All-Americans back line and ran in untouched for a 25-6 advantage.

All-Americans captain Jennifer Johnson got her sides first try in the 54th minute but Canada kept adding to their lead as Neilson stuck a penalty a few minutes later.

Svoboda would grab her final two tries inside the final 15 minutes either side of a final Neilson penalty as Canada’s Maple Leafs rounded out an impressive 45-13 win.

Canada Maple Leafs:1. Brittany Kassil (Guelph Redcoats) Guelph, ON; 2. Megan Copeland; 3. Chelsey Minter (Velox Valkyries) Sydney, NS; 4. Camile Provençal-Aube (Abénakis et CRQ), Sherbrooke, QC; 5. Daria Keane (Guelph Redcoats) Sarnia, ON; 6. Gillian Boag (Calgary, AB; Capilano/UBC); 7. Sara Svoboda (Belleville Bulldogs RFC) Belleville, ON; 8. Gabrielle Senft (UVic/Castaway Wanderers) Regina, SK; 9. Lori Josephson, captain (Aurora Barbarians) Beaverton, ON; 10. Jess Neilson (UVic/Castaway Wanderers) Vancouver, BC; 11. Lisa Gauthier (St-Anne de Bellevue), St-Bernardino, ON; 12. Mackenzie Higgs (Aurora Barbarians) Aurora, ON; 13. Julia Goss (Leprechaun Tigers) Edmonton, AB; 14. Natasha Smith (Barrhaven Scottish) Ottawa, ON; 15. Alanna Fittes (Leprechaun Tigers) Rimbey, AB16. Kathleen Keller (Castaway Wanderers) Quebec, QC; 17. Colleen Irowa (McMaster University/Toronto Saracens RFC) Innisifil, ON; 18. Simone Savory; 19. Emma Taylor (HRFC) Halifax, NS; 20. Ngalula Fuamba (TMR) Notre-Dame-de-l'Île-Perrot, QC; 21. Justine Pelletier (Club de Rugby de Quebec) Quebec, QC; 22. Gillian Allen (Kirin) Saskatoon, SK; 23. Petra Woods (Toronto Saracens) Brampton, ON;

AIG Women's Collegiate All-Americans: ; 1. Rebekah Hebdon; 2. Bridget Kahele; 3. Azniv Nalbandian; 4. Jennifer Johnson (C); 5. Haley Schafer; 6. Yeja Dunn; 7. Taylah Pipkin; 8. Ilona Maher; 9. Kat Ramage; 10. Gabby Cantorna; 11. Danielle Ordway; 12. McKenzie Hawkins; 13. Sarah Buonpane; 14. Uzo Okoro; 15. Nicole Benedetti16. Frieda Fetu'u; 17. Francesca Sands; 18. Kaityln Broughton; 19. Megan Rom; 20. Jessica Lewis; 21. Bailey Johnson; 22. Elizabeth Rose; 23. Lanoira Duhart