ONTARIO ARROWS CLINICAL IN EAST-COAST VICTORY OVER NEW ENGLAND FREEJACKS

Despite swirling winds and soggy conditions, the Arrows raced out to a 33-point advantage in the opening 40 minutes at the Wanderers Grounds. Andrew Coe set the tone with two pacey tries in the opening 15 minutes of the match, while Tom Van Horne, Mo Abdelmonem and Cooper Coats each followed suit with individual first-half tallies to put the Arrows ahead 33-0 heading into the interval.

No. 8 Matt Mullins added a sixth Ontario try in the final stages of the match, displaying his Canada Sevens-developed speed and skill for a memorable 40-metre solo score.

Coats, playing in front of a receptive hometown crowd, was lethal with the boot; the native Haligonian slotted five conversions in the match.

Prop Luke Schlotman provided a brace of second-half tries for New England, with fly-half Ben Cima adding a pair of conversions.

“Our guys put in an all-around strong performance, with plenty of positives to take back with us to Ontario,” said Arrows head coach Chris Silverthorn, following the match. “There are some areas we’ll be looking to tighten up when we’re back in training, but the effort shown by all our guys demonstrated a strong commitment to the gameplan. Our guys were hungry out there, and were rewarded with a positive result against a solid New England side looking to make an impact in their first-ever match.”

Saturday’s win was the club’s fifth consecutive exhibition season victory against American opponents. Ontario now holds a 5-1-1 record this year, which includes victories over MLR sides Glendale Raptors and Utah Warriors, a pair of wins against the Boston Mystics, and a draw against MLR’s Houston SaberCats.

“Nova Scotia, just like all the maritime provinces, has a tremendous rugby history and culture, and we’re grateful to have had the opportunity to play a match on the east coast as we get into our 2019 season preparations,” added Silverthorn. “The local guys who made their debuts didn’t miss a beat. We had several changes to lineup from our previous match against Glendale, yet the level of professionalism from all our new guys was right where you’d expect it to be. We’re developing a very strong club culture here, and everyone is buying in.”

Seven Arrows made their club debuts in the victory. Abdelmonem and Josiah Morra both started, while Liam Carter, Grant Crowell, Lee Keegal, Kieron Martin and Owen Schimpl all featured off the bench.

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Ontario Arrows Score Report

Tries: A. Coe 2 (8, 13), M. Abdelmonem (28), C. Coats (34), M. Mullins (70), T. Van Horne (19)
Conversions: C. Coats 5 (9, 14, 20, 29, 71)

New England FreeJacks Score Report

Tries: L. Schlotman 2 (58, 65)
Conversions: B. Cima 2 (59, 66)

Ontario Arrows Lineup vs. New England FreeJacks

1. Rob Brouwer
2. Andrew Quattrin
3. Tom Dolezel
4. Mike Sheppard (C)
5. Tom Van Horne
6. Mo Abdelmonem
7. Peter Milazzo
8. Matt Mullins
9. Riley Di Nardo
10. Shawn Windsor
11. Lucas Hammond
12. Mitch Richardson
13. Andrew Coe
14. Josiah Morra
15. Cooper Coats

16. Jack McRogers
17. Alex Forrest
18. Mike Smith
19. Liam Carter
20. Grant Crowell
21. Owen Schimpl
22. Lee Keegal
23. Kieron Martin

STAFF
Head Coach: Chris Silverthorn
Assistant Coaches: David Butcher, Aaron Carpenter, Cory Hector
General Manager: Mark Winokur
Performance Analyst: Rodin Lozada
Athletic Therapist: Chris Kelly
Team Doctor: Dr. John Gillis

About Ontario Arrows Rugby Club:

The Ontario Arrows Rugby Club is Canada’s first privately-funded high-performance rugby team.

The team is equipped to compete against top-tier North American club teams, providing emerging Canadian talent with enhanced and more frequent opportunities to hone their skills at an elite level.

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