The underdog Burnaby Lake women's rugby team pulled off a Cinderella finish in the Division 2 provincial final.
Burnaby Lake, the lowest seeded team heading into the playoffs with a 2-6 record, denied the Vancouver Meraloma its first women's trophy in more than a decade following a 39-27 victory on Saturday to win its first-ever Ged Griffiths Cup in the Division 2 women's provincial final at Klahanie Park on May 5.
Burnaby Lake allowed Loma scrum half Ciara Malone space to scamper in for the game-opening try, but countered to take a 15-10 lead into halftime.
"We knew the Meralomas would come out hard and they did," said Burnaby Lake head coach Ian Trevor. "Our forwards came up with a great effort, and we were able to feed off that to build a two-score lead. Once we had that buffer it was tough for the Meralomas to come back, and we were able to hold on for the win."
The double blue played to its strengths, using its superior size to carry the play in the second half, outscoring the Vancouver side five tries to three.
Defensively, Burnaby keyed on Malone, limiting the Loma pivot's opportunities.
Three Burnaby Lake players crossed the line for a pair of tries, including Nancy Radman, Kathleen Grudzinski and Alya Govorchin.
Tiana Coutts also talled a fivepointer for the winners, while Rebecca Querido added a pair of three-point penalty goals.
"This is a young squad, the average age of our tight five is 17, and we have two high school players in the backs, not to mention one player who has played fewer than 10 games of rugby in total. While we do have some experienced players, this is quite an accomplishment," Trevor added.
In the women's rugby premiership, Burnaby Lake defeated United Rugby Club 22-12 in a semifinal match Saturday.
Velox ran over Bayside 36-8 in the other semi.
The two women's powerhouses will meet in the provincial A final at Klahanie Park on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m.
In men's play, Burnaby Lake's premier team was edged 23-21 by James Bay in a league semifinal.
Capilano got by Castaway-Wanderers 34-22 to also advance to the championship final.
In Ceili's Cup playdowns, the Burnaby Lake Tier 1 first division side also lost, falling 24-10 to Castaway-Wanderers.
Finals in both divisions will also be held Saturday at Klahanie Park.
