Raptors Women win 2015 Champagne Classic

Article by Brent New | Originally published at infinityparkatglendale.com

Still swimming in euphoria, the reigning Women’s Premier League Champion Glendale Raptors returned to action for the first time since November.

Their pending opponents were not as excited.

The Raptors perched atop the podium after the two-day Champagne Classic Women’s Rugby Tournament in San Diego, Calif., having beat up on the rest of the Competitive side of the field with five successive wins.

Rachel Ryan and Joanna Kitlinski scored against the Texas Valkyries to seal their team's fate in the finals game on Saturday.

“It’s nice to get back with the team and start piecing things together,” Ryan said. “It was a great way to start. We had two players get their first trys and we played well as a team.”

They also beat the Berkeley All Blues and San Francisco Golden Gate on their side of the bracket. While tournament host San Diego Surfers won the other side to grab the title in the Social Bracket.

For the Raptors, the spring season continues on Saturday with a rematch of the WPL title game as they host the Twin Cities Amazons at 1 p.m. at Infinity Park.

Of course, this time will is far different than the former. It’s been almost three months since Glendale edged the Amazons 16-15 in the title game and this happens to be the non-competitive spring season.

The Raptors, however, say their mindset won't flinch.

“We still want to go out and win every game,” Ryan said. “Yes, the season is more about preparing for the WPL season. But we still want to win. That’s always the goal.”