Tuesday, May 22, 2012

ANGELS AND DEMONS JOIN FORCES IN PHILADELPHIA

Margo Legault (Montreal) and Eileen Hansen (Boston) lay a tackle 
Women's footy in North America took another giant step this weekend at the Philadelphia Aussie Rules Tournament. Players from Montreal, Boston, New York, Baltimore and Ontario teamed up to field two 14-a-side teams on a full sized field, a break from the usual 9-a-side squads that dominate the women's version of the game. The result was an outstanding game of footy that eventually fell the way of the Boston/Montreal combine team, taking home the win by 32 points Boston/Montreal 8.10 (58) defeating New York/Balt/Ont 4.2 (26).

It was also another good weekend for the five Angels who made the trek south. Aimee Legault again outstanding through the midfield while Lindsay Belzie was proving a massive headache up forward for the New York defenders. Unheralded Canadian national player Margo Legault was in stellar form, making every touch of the football an effective one with countless goal assists whilst once again proving a titan on defence. Down back Kate Allbon-Sargeant proved a thorn in the side of the Magpie attackers burrowing her way in to the bottom of the packs and coming up with the footy time and time again. It was also a break-out game for Emily Legault who was given the job of shutting down some of the Magpies big guns up front, a task she proved she was more the capable of handling.

The Angels upcoming matches are May 26th (playing as Ottawa Swans in Toronto) and May 27th AFL Quebec Round 3 (Co-ed) in Montreal.

Stay tuned for the match report.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Angels get Hyped!

Emily Legault - Hype player of the Week
Named Rookie Standout in Montreal
Pre-season Tournament
The Montreal Angels Aussie Rules Football Team is ecstatic about their new found partnership with Hype Energy Drinks. With the 2012 season just kicking off, Hype and the Angels have many trips ahead of them, including games scheduled in Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, Boston, New York and Philadelphia. 

Who are the Angels you say? We're a bunch of fearless, strong, good-looking and fun women athletes who play a crazy sport from down under. We feel like Hype is a good match for us because it's original, wacky and stands out, just like us!

What is Aussie Rules? It's like nothing you've ever seen! A fusion of all your favourite sports, the idea is to try and kick the ball through vertical posts, all the while dodging body checks and tackles from the opposition. The ball is oval and you can run with it. You can either kick it or punch it to a team mate, but if you decide to keep it you have to bounce it on the grass after running 10 yards. 

After claiming the title of Canadian Women's National Championship in 2010, the Angels had three players represent Canada in the first ever women's International Championships in Australia in June 2011. 
The 2012 season is looking very promising with the Angels recording 
their first win at the AFL Quebec pre-season tournament hosted in Montreal. 

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

ANGELS TEAM WITH OTTAWA FOR SATURDAY MATCH

The Montreal Angels will travel to Ottawa Saturday to join forces with the Swanettes and take on the High Park Demons of the OAFL. The Swanettes made the long journey down the 401 last Saturday and pulled off an impressive victory against the Toronto Central Blues.

The match is scheduled to kick-off at 1pm at Rideau Carelton Raceway in Ottawa.

Angels are also advised that this coming Sunday is Round 2 of the AFL Quebec season and to check the official website for further details.

www.aflquebec.ca

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

IT'S FOOTY JIM, BUT NOT AS WE KNOW IT


Montreal Angels v Boston Lady Demons
Story courtesy of (stephinboots) THE FOOTY ALMANAC

A few things I’d never encountered in over 40 years of footy-going: snow en route to a game; a bagpipe medley of Advance Australia Fair and Waltzing Matilda; a rule forbidding goals kicked from beyond the 30-yard line; a field of artificial turf; barracking in French. But that was before last weekend, and the playoffs for the AFL Quebec preseason cup: six men’s teams (all local), three women’s teams.

We were there (via the Ben&Jerry’s factory in Vermont and a drive through four hours of snow flurries) to cheer on the Boston Lady Demons, because our Lydia was pulling on the boots as their full forward. She’d played two games of competitive footy in her life before we moved to the States; she’s already got three more under her belt, courtesy of the USAFL National Championships last October. The new Boston team had taken eight players to Nationals for a combine team (the Boston Lady Demons/Columbus Jillaroos/Baltimore Washington Eagles – a bit of a mouthful for us barrackers), and had been working their butts off since to recruit and train players for the forthcoming season. In fact, recruiting’s gone so well that the Preseason Cup Footy Record (an impressive 28 pages with colour cover) still lists the Montreal Angels’ opponent as a Boston/New York combine, but Boston’s fielding a full nine-a-side team, and New York’s brought eight girls. A handful of ring-ins from Ontario turn it into a three-way comp, and give the teams some subs.

At nineteen, Lydia’s the baby of the Boston team, and their only Australian. If you long for the days of old-fashioned hard-fought footy, played by people with an unrivalled love of the game, you can’t go past women’s footy in North America. These aren’t players who’ve grown up obsessed with footy, being dressed in club colours from the cot onwards, trotting off to Auskick. These are players who’ve stumbled on the game – or on someone who plays the game – and become hooked. And some bring star quality and a history of sporting excellence to their new love. International Cup veterans like Montreal’s Aimee Legualt, New York’s Drea Casillas, and Boston’s own Emily Riehl could match it with the men of many local footy teams at home in Australia.

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