HIGH ACHIEVERS WEEKEND WRAP: 57th Panda Game up next during Carleton Ravens, Ottawa Gee-Gees rivalry week

By Martin Cleary

There’s nothing better than a riveting and spirited rivalry match between university varsity athletic teams.

Cross-town rivals from the University of Ottawa and Carleton University are in the middle of rivalry madness right now and the most highly-anticipated and hotly-contested of those battles is on the horizon for the respective Gee-Gees and Ravens teams.

The Gee-Gees and Ravens went head-to-head over the weekend in women’s soccer, men’s and women’s rugby and rowing. The results were all over the athletic map – from an unexpected scoreless tie, to blowouts, to multiple races for medals.

The next rivalry showdown is Sunday at noon at TD Place Stadium, when defending champion Carleton plays series-leading Ottawa in the 57th annual Panda football game.

If Carleton is able to repeat as the Panda champion, it will be their first OUA win in the 2026 season. If Ottawa emerges the winner, it will strengthen its OUA record to 4-2 and improve its Panda superiority to 39 wins against 18 losses.

Both football teams can pick up some momentum from the interesting outcomes provided by their counterparts in other varsity sports over the last few days.

The head-to-head women’s soccer match saw a surprise scoreless tie between the OUA East Division-leading Gee-Gees (6-0-1) and the tied-for-sixth-place Ravens (2-4-2) at Matt Anthony Field.

While there wasn’t a single goal scored, the Gee-Gees couldn’t be faulted for a lack of trying as they took 41 shots during the 90-minute game. Their second-half effort produced 27 shots alone.

Carleton goalkeeper Tyler Duigart was alert and sharp, making 19 saves for her shutout. At the other end, Gee-Gees goalie Laura Salgado was only required to make five saves for her clean sheet.

But RSEQ rugby was a totally different story as the Gee-Gees showed no mercy on the Ravens and strengthened their first-place record with convincing and dominant victories.

The undefeated Gee-Gees, ranked No. 6 by U Sports, won their fifth consecutive women’s game 99-0 over the 0-4 Ravens. It was the highest-scoring game of the conference season. The Gee-Gees have scored 274 points and allowed 69 points in their five games.

National-team player Grace Dingwall ran for four tries, while Liliana Davidson added three tries and Sophie Gibrara contributed two tries. Single tries went to Nev Dubois, Ava Johnston, Naomi Lapp, Marley Magnusson, Madigan Stock and Annalise Wey. Lapp and Claire Bennett kicked six converts each.

In the men’s RSEQ match, the Gee-Gees picked up their third win to remain in a tie for first place, after turning back the Ravens 59-3.

Ryan Plunkett paced the Gee-Gees with three tries and Alex Arsenault added a pair of tries. Declan Crew-Gee, Lane Morency, Ryan Ouellette and Josh Seguin were single-try scorers. Nate Phillips booted five converts and J.S. Cook added two.

Carleton is in seventh place without a win in two games. Liam Power kicked a penalty for the Ravens.

At the 76th Head of the Rideau rowing regatta at Mooney’s Bay, the Gee-Gees won the Kandahar Trophy as the top university team with 43 points. McGill University Redbirds were second at 40 points, while Trent University Excalibur took third at 37 points. Carleton’s specific standing and point total was unavailable.

The Gee-Gees finished with nine first-place finishes, one second and four thirds, while the Ravens recorded three wins, one second and three thirds.

The Gee-Gees women’s team was lead by Molly Lawford, who won the women’s varsity single, and Rebecca Cocchetto, who had a first in the women’s lightweight varsity four and a second in the women’s lightweight varsity single.

Rosie O’Brien paced the Ravens with wins in the women’s lightweight varsity single and the women’s varsity double. David Badekin was second in the men’s lightweight varsity double and third in the men’s lightweight varsity single.

The host Ottawa Rowing Club earned 16 first-place results, seven seconds and four thirds. Andrei Vovk was a two-time winner in the men’s lightweight single and the men’s four.

Tamsen Taylor of Elmwood School also was a double champion with firsts in the women’s U19 single and the U19 double.

Wes Kuran served as Head of the Rideau regatta umpire for his 50th year.

Following the Gee-Gees’ scoreless tie with the Ravens, Ottawa registered another shutout with a 5-0 decision over the Toronto Metropolitan University Bold.

Sabrina Mangiaracina sparked the Gee-Gees with one goal and two assists. Heidi Miles, Erica Tsang and MaryLou Peladeau had one-goal games, while the Bold helped the Gee-Gees’ cause with an own goal. Isabella Vandenberg posted the three-save shutout and watched her teammates take 32 shots towards the Bold net.

The Ravens lost their other game 1-0 to No.5-ranked University of Toronto Varsity Blues.

In men’s OUA soccer, Yusuf Osman scored in the 53rd minute as Carleton tied 1-1 with the Varsity Blues. Carleton dominated with 18 shots and seven on the Toronto net, while goalkeeper Nathan Frans stopped four of five Toronto shots.

While the Ravens football team had the week off, the Gee-Gees couldn’t keep pace with the OUA frontrunners and lost 41-20 to the undefeated Queen’s University Gaels (4-0).

The Gee-Gees led 20-11 late in the second quarter before the Gaels scored 30 unanswered points the rest of the way to secure the victory.

Receiver Robin Collioud scored a pair of Gee-Gees touchdowns on passing plays from quarterback Josh Janssen, which covered 28 and 19 yards. Zachary Copeland kicked field goals from 23 and 33 yards and added two converts.

Jaxxon Brashear made six solo tackles and added four assists on defence, while Marc Rondeau had five tackles and four assists.

CARLETON WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM HEADS TO KOREA ON A WINNING STREAK

The Carleton University Ravens women’s basketball team is heading to the Park Shin-Ja Cup tournament in Busan, South Korea, on a three-game winning streak.

The Ravens swept all three games at its own Fall Invitational women’s basketball tournament to open its competitive 2026-27 season.

Carleton scored double-digit victories over the Concordia University Stingers 58-40, McGill Redbirds 72-58 and Acadia Axewomen 70-59.

Tyanne Matosas-Adderley led the Ravens with a combined 49 points in the three games. Florence Fortin, who played her first season with Carleton in 2022-23 before competing for Laval University Rouge et Or for the last three years, had a team-high 16 points against Acadia and 11 rebounds along with Abany Deng against Concordia.

HOMETOWN RUNNERS LIFT VISITING QUEEN’S GAELS TO CAPITAL XC CROWN

The Ottawa-powered Queen’s University Gaels were the runaway winners in the women’s university division at the 2026 Capital XC Challenge Saturday at Mooney’s Bay.

With three products of the host Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club leading the way, the Gaels beat the Laval Rouge et Or by 20 placement points for top spot in the team standings (31-51).

Olivia Baggley led the way with a third-place performance among university runners, followed by Rosalyn Barrett in fourth and Elizabeth Vroom in sixth.

Gee-Gees rookie Kyra Lauter was the top finisher for hometown University of Ottawa in 14th as her team placed fifth of eight universities.

Ottawa runners also led the way for the Queen’s Gaels men’s team, with Saul Taler placing second overall among university runners, with Charlie Mortimer in seventh. The Queen’s men were runners-up to Laval (24-45), while uOttawa was sixth, led by Sebastian Cino in 21st.

There were also races for under-14, U12 and U10 runners on Saturday, while high school athletes ran the Gryphon Cross Country Open Friday.

END NOTES

· Ottawa’s Dave Best will be inducted as a builder into the Rugby Ontario Hall of Fame on Nov. 14 at the Maple Banquet Hall in Mississauga as part of the Class of 2026. Best, the chair of the Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame, is a past president of the Eastern Ontario Rugby Union and has served as vice chair and a board member with Rugby Ontario.

· Ottawa’s Josh Cassidy placed sixth in the men’s wheelchair race at the Berlin Marathon. He finished in one hour, 31 minutes, 31 seconds, while Switzerland’s Marcel Hug won in 1:23:28. It was Hug’s 11th career win at the Berlin Marathon.

· Montreal’s Priscilla Gagne, who formerly trained out of Ottawa’s Takahashi Dojo, won four of six bouts and finished fifth in the women’s 52-kilogram class at the Para judo world championships in Tsibilisi, Georgia.

· Hockey Canada has invited four Ottawa players to the national women’s team training camp – goalkeeper Kayle Osborne, Hamilton, PWHL; defender Jocelyne Larocque, Ottawa, PWHL; and forwards Rebecca Leslie, Ottawa, PWHL; and Sarah Wozniewicz, Ottawa, PWHL.

· Fee Ann Landry of Gatineau won the bronze medal in women’s singles with 156.88 points from her short program skate of 56.41 points and free skate of 100.47 points at the Nebelhorn Trophy figure skating competition in Oberstdorf, Germany.

· Brodie Sorensen of the Britannia Yacht Club earned the top local result with an eighth-place finish in the ILCA 7 class at the Sail Canada Senior Championships in Germany.