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Sports Oakville Beaver 2007 United Way of Oakville Campaign Total amount raised OUR GOAL $ 7% 2.25 million United Way For more info: 905-845-5571 SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2007 39 Cru in unfamiliar role Perennial rugby power now an underdog Having lost three of their past four games to finish with with a pedestrian 7-7 record in league play, the Oakville Crusaders don't seem to have much of a shot in this year's McCormick Cup playoffs. That's a perception that Crusaders head coach Jim Delaney is embracing as he prepares the rugby club for tomorrow's postseason opener in Ottawa. "A lot of teams have written us off, sayig we're too old and too stagnant," Delaney said. "It's a good position to come from. We're quietly confident." This has been an off-year for the Crusaders, whose fifth-place finish in this year's Marshall Division standings is the club's worst in more than a decade. Oakville concluded the regular season with a 52-7 loss at the hands of the Aurora Barbarians. Delaney attributes this year's dropoff to a number of factors. "We've suffered from our own success, really. We've got three guys playing in the World Cup, and the Niagara Thunder has about 16 guys on their roster from our club. That puts further pressure on the resources we have," he said. "We've suffered from injuries to key players, or the unavailability of key players. We've had in excess of 60 players go through the first team. It's pretty tough to get any sort of continuity." The Crusaders expect to have nearly all of their top players back for the McCormick Cup playoffs, although Delaney wishes Andrew Thompson -- still playing with the Thunder -- was available for tomorrow's tilt against Barrhaven Scottish. "I think, with the exception of a couple guys, we're going to be as good (tomorrow) as we'll be for the rest of the year," Delaney said. The Crusaders have their work cut out for them if they hope to return to the McCormick Cup final for the second time in three years. Oakville will not play a single home game throughout the playoffs. -- Jon Kuiperij DEREK WOOLLAM / SPECIAL TO THE OAKVILLE BEAVER DOUBLE-TEAM: Crusaders rugby players Patrick Campbell (left) and Kristian Evans (right) team up to tackle an Aurora Barbarians opponent last weekend at Crusader Park. Balance of inside, outside play paying off for Abbey Park By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR The Abbey Park Eagles are turning their opponents insideout this season. Featuring a strong interior game as well as dependable perimeter shooting, the Eagles improved to 2-0 in Halton high school senior girls' basketball play Wednesday with a 4831 home win over the Oakville Trafalgar Red Devils. Abbey Park's league victory came a few days "I'm not going after the team claimed gold at a to put any crazy weekend tournament in Burlington. Eagles guard Kayla Goodhoofd predictions out paced her team against OT, scoring a there. We know game-high 17 points and adding sevthere are some eral steals. Hannah Mandel chipped monster teams... in with 13 points and demonstrated and we're an ability to finish near the basket. Abbey Park coach Mike Bernard hoping to be said the different styles of Goodhoofd able to run and Mandel make the Eagles a diffiwith them." cult team to defend. "It's a nice option to have. The Abbey Park coach best thing about it is they underMike Bernard stand that balance, when to go inside and pull the ball out," he said. "They are getting better at reading defences and it's something we're working on to get prepared for some really strong defensive teams out there. They've really picked up their basketball intelligence." Despite the impressive early-season results, Bernard isn't quite ready yet to burden his team with the expectations of a Halton title this season. "I'm not going to put any crazy predictions out there. We know there are some monster teams -- Nelson, Notre Dame, Holy Trinity, Loyola -- and we're hoping to be able to run with them," he said. The Red Devils, 2-0 entering Wednesday's contest, actually carried the play in the early going. OT jumped out to a 6-3 lead before Abbey Park stepped up its defence to key a 13-1 run. PHOTOS BY LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER VERSATILE ATTACK: Kayla Goodhoofd (23) brings ball-handling skills and perimeter shooting abilities to the Abbey Park Eagles senior girls' basketball team, while Hannah Mandel (44) provides a strong interior presence. The Eagles outscored OT 14-5 in the second quarter to build a 30-15 halftime lead, and inflated their advantage to 24 points midway through the fourth quarter. Other notable scorers for Abbey Park were Zoe Salhia (seven points) and Erin Tilley (four). Countering for the Red Devils, who came within three points of upsetting M.M. Robinson in last year's Halton AAAA semifinal, were Whitney Gatton (11), Kristen Thompson (five) and Lauren Egglestone (five). OT coach Joyce Vaive felt her team played tentatively, particularly on defence. She noted the Red Devils had yet to compete in any tournaments (they'll play their first this weekend) and anticipates the squad will improve as the season goes on.