Written by Jackie Finlan    Saturday, 03 December 2011 12:25    PDF Print Write e-mail
Canada Ends USA Women's Final Hopes
Sevens - USA Sevens Women

Canada completely dominated the USA Women in the Dubai 7s Cup Semifinal today, advancing to the final against England after a 36-0 rout.

Kaelene Lundstrum attempts to break through the Canadian defense. (Ian Muir photo)

Two minutes in, Ghislaine Landry got the scoring started when she chipped over the defense and gathered her own ball and the USA defense was slow to the uptake.

The Canadian defense was the star of the show and it produced a number of stellar tries. The first of which came from Cheryl Phillips, who scored two five-pointers on the day. Canada stole a USA lineout in Eagles' half. The ball worked out to Ashley Patzer who took on the outside defense, creating a hole for a switch back inside. Phillips was in support for the offload, cut across Rebekah Siebach for the score.

Jenn Kish converted her first of three extras for the 12-0 lead at half.

Unforced errors marred the Eagles play and Canada was always there to take advantage quickly. With a 22-0 lead, Phillips was in position to pick off a hasty pass from Katie Dowty, who was attempting to keep the ball alive after some frantic, scrambling offense attempted to get the ball moving forward. Phillips went into the try zone untouched.

The final score of the day typified the USA's woes, as the Eagles attempted to run a lineout ball deep in their half. A low, but catchable pass to Corey Fredricks on the wing saw the ball trickle in Brittany Waters' hands. She backtracked on the USA defense and found a hole through which she burst and dotted down.

It was a disappointing end for the USA women, who finished their Dubai tournament with a 22-5 loss to Australia, finishing fourth overall.