The first match-up of the night to wrap up 10 years of Superleague games saw the Ladies Griffintown Gaels vs the verdun Vikings.
Both teams had the same goal in mind, and they stood in each others way; winning the 2022 summer Superleague.
From the throw in, both teams fought hard for the ball, but it only took 1 minute for the first score to happen. Iliana Loupessis of the Vikings sent her kick sailing over the bar. Which was matched by Larissa Andrusyshyn 2 minutes later with her own point. The rest of the 1st quarter was controlled by the Vikings, as Eimear O’Leary scored a goal, Manon Walsh came close to scoring a goal of her own but was pulled off the ball by the Gaels. Which resulted in referee Shera Robinson giving a free kick to Manon, who scored a point. A few minutes later, Vikings got another free kick, which was taken by Iliana for another Vikings goal.
After 1 quarter it was 2-3 Vikings to 0-1 Gaels.
The 2nd quarter started like the 1st one ended. Alicia Corriveau scored her first point within 2 minutes, which was followed by points from Erin Rainville and Iliana Loupessis. A spark ignited in the dying seconds of the 2nd quarter as Julie Morrice for the Gaels was seen scoring a goal right before the whistle.
At half time, 3-6 Vikings and 1-1 Gaels.
When the 3rd quarter started, that spark became a roaring fire, as the Gaels found new life, Emily Flaherty scored 1 goal and 2 points and Jasmine Akkermans scored a goal. Gaels were not just clicking offensively, their defence shutdown the Vikings, as they were only able to score 1 point that quarter.
As the whistle blew, the 3rd quarter seen 3-7 Vikings and 3-3 for the Gaels.
As the players lined up for the 4th quarter, even with a 4-point difference, everyone in attendance knew, this was still anybody’s game. Jasmine scored a point in the opening 2 minutes, bringing the Gaels within 3. From then on, the defence on both teams took over, Catherine Barnwell and Vanessa Chaton were seen blocking shots and intercepting anything coming their way. Same was said for Mariette Parrod and Carine Machaalani as they blocked and intercepted everything at their end. It was a defensive showdown. In the dying seconds, Gaels brought the ball inside the Vikings box, a shot was taken to tie the game, but unfortunately it was too little too late, as the whistle blew, marking an end to an amazing game and crowning the women’s Vikings as Summer Superleague Champions.
The lights were on for this nighttime game, which involved the Men’s Gaels and Rocks. These finals promised to be physical and fast paced as these two teams held a grudge against each other for many seasons now.
From the opening throw in from referee Damien Conneely, the Rocks grabbed the ball and kicked it up the field to Stevie the mad scientist Owens as he buried it in the back of the net before the 1st minute even had time to tick away. This goal shook the Gaels as it came faster than anybody expected and flashbacks from Stevie scoring the winter season winning goal flashed in their minds. Within a minute Tony Cunningham retaliated with a point well behind the 35-yard line, along with Dave Healy scoring a point of his own seconds later. After 10 minutes of play, Gaels had the lead 0-8 to 1-1. Not wanting to fall behind, Darragh Hyland from the Rocks found himself splitting the defence and taking a powerful shot on net, which was saved by Paul Doherty. Darragh quickly took his own rebound and buried it, to bring the Rocks within 1.
As the 1st half was ticking down to its final minutes, a couple of frees were put over the bar by Tony Cunningham and Stevie Owens.
At the 22nd minute of the 1st half, Aiden Gallagher popped one over the bar near the 15-yard line. Within the same minute, Rocks made quick passes and found themselves within yards of scoring another goal, but out of nowhere, a body came flying in; the body of Aiden Gallagher who ran back a good 70 yards to make the block of the game and preventing a sure goal.
As halftime arrived, the score was 0-10 Gaels to 2-3 Rocks.
When the ball was thrown into play, Gaels made sure not to be fooled again as Dave Glynn popped it over the bar with just 1 minute off the clock. Followed by points from Neil O’Brien and Thien Tran. Rocks were not going to be pushed around and the shoulders got more frequent, Marty Lawless and Darragh each put points over the bar. But at the 9th minute mark, referee Damien Conneely had enough of the chatter, and presented Stevie Owens with a yellow. That seemed to have shaken the Rock’s confidence as within a minute of that card Mickael Heberlin scored a point, followed by an interception by Tony Cunningham resulting in another point for the Gaels. Frustration was felt on the field and Liam Twomey got presented with a yellow for a high tackle on Thien Tran. After which both teams started to display a shutdown defensive game as neither team were capable of solving their opponents for a few minutes. Finally, after 5 minutes of no scoring, Conall of the Rocks solved the equation in front of them and popped one well over the bar, followed by 2 points from Marty Lawless.
Unfortunately for the Rocks it was not enough, as the Gaels took a nice lead during the 2nd half and ran away with the Summerleague title. 2-19 to 2-8.
Notable stats, Tony Cunningham sent 4 frees sailing over the bar and Stevie Owens for the Rocks scored their only point from a free.
