October 28, 2012 Middlebury vs. Bates

Final Score 59 – 5, Win

After a lovely evening spent in Cape Elizabeth with Emily Duh’s family, we ventured to Bates for the last game of the regular season. Although playing on turf initially seemed a daunting task, we adapted well to the different type of field than we were used to.

We kicked off to Bates to begin the game, where we immediately dominated play and possession. A Bates’ knock on led to a Middlebury scrum, which prompted a beautiful switch from eight man Sarah “Fraulein Fander” Pfander (’13) to fly half Julia “Extra Sharp” Gulka (’13) for the try. Scrum half Jess “Who let the dog out?” Berry (’13) converted the kick.

Shortly after the Bates kick off, wing Mel “Sandy” Haas (’13) sprinted 60 meters down the touchline to place the misshapen ball in the corner of the try zone. Quick powerful rucking along with skilled ball handling brought the ball within 5 meters of our try zone again. A Bates’ knock on led to another scrum for us. Jess Berry ran to the weak side and offloaded to Sarah Pfander who ran it straight into the try zone.

Up 17-0, some complacent errors led to a brief spell of Bates’ possession, allowing their fly half to run sideways and through our defensive line for a try. This brief pause in which Bates attempted the conversion kick gave us an opportunity to regroup and retain composure. Coming out hard, the backs and forwards worked together to execute a series of creative and effective plays to bring the ball closer to the try line. In a save of NBA caliber, lock Ali “90 Degrees” Hentges (’15) prevented the ball from going out by batting it through her legs, an incredible play that set the stage for our next try, driven through by fullback Julianna “Meet Me at the Watering Hole” Gardner (’13). Another instance of supportive interplay between forwards and backs allowed outside center Stevie “Diva” Durocher (’15.5) to offload the ball to oncoming lock Hannah “Hanukah” Elkin, who stiff-armed and powerfully drove across the try line to finish the half on a strong note.

From the beginning of the second half, we remained on Bates’ defensive half with intensity and focus. Jess Berry collected the ball off our scrum about 10 meters from the try zone, fought through an attempted tackle from the opposing scrum half, faked the switch to Julia Gulka, and passed the ball to inside center Laura “High Tackled” Hoffman (’15), who sprinted through the Bates defensive line to score another try for the Blue.

After yet another series of beautiful quick passes from the back line, Ali Hentges collected the ball and practically strolled through the Bates defensive line for 30 meters, before nonchalantly touching down the ball across the try line. Jess Berry successfully converted the kick to put an extra two on the scoreboard.

After an extensive delay for an injured Bates player, we carried on business as usual. Julianna Gardner broke through a succession of attempted tackles to drive 40 meters into the try zone. Soon after, Sarah “Mini Quiche” Minahan (’14) did a crafty pick-and-go off a breakdown near the try line to place the ball into the zone on the far right. Only a few plays later, Julia Gulka drove the ball over the line after the formation of a ruck, also on the far right side. To mimic her big sister, Sarah Minahan scored the final try of the game in a similar fashion, picking the ball off a scrum to touch the ball down on the far right side of the try zone.

 

A special shout out to Alex “I Do Work” McKeon (’13) who came back out at wing for her first game back after months out from an ankle injury, and had many great runs and ball handling with the back line. Stevie Durocher also had an amazing game at outside center, running through the Bates’ defensive line and lending support in the rucks on countless occasions.

A huge thanks to all of the friends and family who came out to support us: the Svec’s with their famous brownies and orange slices, the Attwood’s, Mr. Hoffman, and to Jackie, Russ, Maggie, Ben and Emily for feeding and hosting the entire team!

 

First Half

Julia Gulka (Berry – 2)

Mel Haas – 5

Sarah Pfander – 5

Bates – 5

Julianna Gardner – 5

Hannah Elkin – 5

 

Second half

Laura Hoffman – 5

Ali Hentges (Berry – 2)

Julianna Gardner – 5

Sarah Minahan – 5

Julia Gulka – 5

Sarah Minahan – 5

 

October 20, 2012 Middlebury vs. Williams

Final Score 39 – 0, Win

We set off bright and early for Williamstown, Massachusetts, ready to face the Purple Cows in our second to last league game of the season. The sun was shining, and the lovely fall foliage set the scene for a truly beautiful day for rugby.

We started with a kick off from Williams. Confronting the strength and size of the Williams pack may have seemed to be a daunting task, however we came out hard, dominating rucks and maintaining possession. This consistent possession and good hands from the back line allowed the ball to get out to wing Melanie “Usain Bolt” Haas (‘13), who sprinted down the field for the first try of the game. Although we continued to do a good job getting to the rucks quickly, the Williams’ players often managed to drive with more force, which is how Williams tended to gain their possession throughout the half. Their wing received the ball and proceeded to kick it all the way into their try zone, but luckily scrum half Jess “Midriff” Berry (‘13) made an excellent chase and stopped her from scoring. A great quick ball out from the backs combined with Mel’s impossible speed gained her three more tries before the half ended, and we finished the half up 22 – 0.

In the second half we made an effort to change up our game and work on skills to utilize in upcoming games. Fly-half Julia “Seriously Sharp” Gulka (‘13) had an exceptional game, controlling the pace and creativity in the backline, while consistently bringing down any Williams ball-carriers threatening to break through to our defensive line. By her side was inside center Marissa “Melissa” Shaw (‘14) who had amazing runs and tackles throughout the whole game, and may or may not have glue on her hands. A series of punches got the ball closer to the try line, where hooker Rae “Gotta catch ‘em all” Colombo (‘13) was able to drive it over the try line. Continued hard work from the both backs and forwards got the ball out to Mel, netting her 5th try of the game.

Our last try came from fullback Julianna “Sass” Gardner (‘13) who had incredible game, coming through as a strong strike runner throughout our numerous attacking plays. An offload from outside center Stevie “The Feb” Durocher (‘15.5) put Julianna in the perfect position to sprint the final meters to the try line and score on the outside.

Other shout outs: Lock Hannah “Keepin’ it Kosher” Elkin (‘13) made some great runs in support of the backline, leapt and stole some of the Williams’ line outs, and scored a try which was mysteriously declared not a try. Rae Colombo also almost scored a try in the last second of the game, off a pass from Jess Berry, but was ruled out-of-bounds before placing the ball.  

A special thank you to the alums who came and visited this Homecoming Weekend–Evan Pagano (‘12), Logan Gallogly (‘12), Melissa Hayes (‘12), and Krome (‘12)–and all of the parents who made the treck to watch us play–Mr. and Mrs. Berry, Mr. Colombo, Mr. and Mrs. Spfander, and Mr. Hoffman!


First half
Melanie Haas – 5
Melanie Haas – 5
Melanie Haas – 5 (Berry – 2)
Melanie Haas – 5

Second half
Marea Colombo – 5 (Berry – 2)
Melanie Haas – 5
Julianna Gardner – 5