GUELPH, Ont. - After upsetting the previously undefeated Queen's Gaels in last week's semi-final, expectations were high for the Golden Hawks heading into Sunday's championship matchup against the Guelph Gryphons.
While the players left it all on the snow-covered pitch, Guelph came away with the 28-19 victory, securing their second straight OUA title.
"My heart's breaking for the boys. They put in tremendous work this year," said Head Coach Phil Murphy. "To be honest, we're looking at this as we won silver."
It was the first appearance in an OUA championship game (on record) for the Golden Hawks. Earning the OUA silver medal marks this season as the most successful in the program's history.
A large and dedicated group of Laurier fans braved the cold and the snow, filling nearly half of the cheering section on the hill overlooking the University of Guelph's grass rugby pitch.
The Golden Hawks faithful nearly saw their team open the scoring minutes into the game, but the strong Gryphons defence thwarted their advance with just a few yards to go.
Guelph's Connor McKinney scored the game's first try in the ninth minute. Laurier nearly responded with a try of their own but was once again stopped just short, mere inches from the touchline.
The Gryphons extended their lead shortly after in the 16th minute when Jack Morris took off from near midfield for a long run before scoring. Guelph then made it a three-score game in the 31st minute on a try from Collin Smibert.
The Golden Hawks' first score of the game came in the 40th minute when Matt Bagiamas broke through to make it 21-7 just before halftime.
The second half saw neither team able to generate much offence before Laurier finally got the ball into Gryphons' territory around ten minutes in. Bagiamas scored his second try of the game in the 52nd minute, making it 21-14.
Guelph responded 11 minutes later with a try from Cam Hurst.
Down two scores late in the game, the purple and gold continued to battle. Nick Harrington scored a try with three minutes left in regulation, but a near-miss on the conversion kept the score at 28-19. From there, Guelph ground the clock down until the final whistle sounded.
"[Before the game] I told the boys just to remember that we've made history, and all we needed now is to achieve greatness," said Murphy. 'We were about nine points short of that. Right now it still stings, but we're happy."
"It's bittersweet," said fourth-year 8-man Dylan Di Girolamo. "It's the finals. You dream of this, right? But we have a lot to be proud of."
A berth in the OUA final also qualified the purple and gold for the Canadian University Men's Rugby Championships. The Golden Hawks and Gryphons will head to Vancouver for the tournament from November 30 to December 4.
"Anytime we get to play a high-level game like this, we get better. So we're going to use this for the trip out to Vancouver," said Murphy.
"Job's not finished," agreed Di Girolamo. "We'll see Guelph again in B.C."
