BY SCOTT DIETRICH 
When the Conestoga men’s rugby team lost their first three games of the season, it seemed unlikely that they would finish the season with a medal.
Yet when the 2013 OCAA men’s rugby season ended last weekend the Conestoga Condors took home some hardware. The Condors won their bronze medal match against Trent at the University of Waterloo on Nov. 16, with a final score of 25-12. In the gold medal match played on Sunday Humber beat Algonquin in a battle of two undefeated teams, to win their fourth championship in a row.
Conestoga played well defensively as Trent was only able to score two tries in the game, and made a couple of crucial stops in the second half as Trent was pushing up the field. Trent played hard until the very last moment of the game, trying to cut into the Conestoga lead, but it wasn’t enough as the Condors shut them down each time they approached their zone.
“We have had some shaky defensive efforts this year but today we came through when it counted,” said team captain Barry Vlasman.
The players were all smiles after the game was over, celebrating the medals wrapped around their necks. In the post-game awards Condor Jacob Robertson received the Man of the Match award for Conestoga. He left the game injured with a mean charley horse, but was playing extremely well before he had to leave the game.
Though the team had a depleted bench due to injuries and two players were playing injured during the game, they stuck together and pulled off the victory.
“More today than any other game we were fighting for each other,” head coach Kyle O’neill said. “We were low on the bench and a couple of guys were playing hurt that second half, and I think today was all heart.”
For a full box score visit ocaa.com.
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