Tommies Drop Season Finale in Hard Fought Battle
Fredericton, NB - The St. Thomas University Tommies played their final game of the season against the University of New Brunswick Reds at the Grant-Harvey Turf Field, where they lost 66-10 in a hard fought battle. In what was the Tommies' annual Grad Game, where they celebrated their graduating players after the final whistle, Tommies' assistant coach Emily Donelle said it was emotional in the locker room prior to kickoff.
"The team wrote eachother letters before the game, so there was a lot of emotion," Donelle said. "But I they found that as a source for of inspiration."
The Reds started off quickly, as Megan Stewart of the Reds rushed into the zone after retreiving the ball from a scrum close to the Tommies' end. It would be the first of her four tries on the game. UNB was able to add to their lead before Tommies' scrum half Valerie Boorne (Sackville, NB) put STU on the board in the 27 minute. But the Reds would answer four minutes later, breaking the line from just over the halfway point of the pitch for a long try.
The Tommies' would not score again until the second half, in the 57 minute where captain Sarah Hetherington (Saint John, NB) scored her final try of the season, bringing the Tommies back to life. STU battled hard for the remainder of the match, but weren't able to generate more points as the Reds came away with a 66-10 victory.
Donelle said she was proud of her team for being able to push through.
"We had a rough start and had to dig deep," she said. "Once we did, we saw some really good stuff happen."
The Tommies finish their 2022-23 campaign with a 1-6 record, while the Reds will head to the playoffs with an undefeated 7-0 record.
