FINAL SCORE: 0 – 31, loss
We traveled down to Boston on Saturday, September 17, for our start to the season against Tufts. Various issues arose prior to the game even starting. While we thought the game started at 1:00, Tufts thought it started at 2:30. Fortunately, we realized this mistake before we left Midd, so we were able to relax and have a nice, long breakfast before our trip.
We arrived in Boston around 12:30 and had plenty of time to warm up before our game. This time was extended when Tufts admitted they did not have a ref for the game, and then was postponed even longer when their EMTs failed to show up. Judy Lennon, mother of Emma Lennon ’11, was at the game and offered her nursing expertise (which would come in handy later in the game when the Tufts EMTs ignored one of our players, who had an injury to the head), but we had to wait for the EMTs to show up anyway (in case you’re curious, they were out to lunch).
But, finally, the game got underway around 1:50. It was a tough opener for us, and everyone came off the field a bit bruised, being that we only had one sub. Tufts scored 5 tries (25 pts) and made three of their conversion kicks (6 pts), making the final score 31 – 0.
While the loss was tough, the team managed to work hard throughout the game. We kept our spirits up, which was something KO mentioned she was very proud of. As an opening game in our new division, we are glad that we now know what we have to work on in order to be successful against these bigger, tougher teams.
And there were many things that went very well in our game. Kayla Bien ’13 had a great break down the field during the second half. Hannah Elkin ’13 made some beautiful kicks-to-touch and effective kick-offs (particularly because it was her first game as our designated kicker). Krome (I won’t use your real name, I promise) ’12, as always, had some beautiful hits. And, of course, there are many more honorable mentions that could take all day to write/read.
But, KO named our MVP yesterday at practice, and this week Mr. Tackle (our ‘trophy’ of sorts), went to Emma Burke ’12. She played a brand new position this weekend, as fullback. Countless times she put her body on the line to protect our zone, and too often she was working by herself. She supported our back line the whole game, and truly did a phenomenal job. So congrats to Lil’ B!
This week at practice we’re really focusing on rucks and tackling to get ready for our game against Amherst on Saturday.
Thank you to all of the parents, relatives, and friends who made it out to our game. Hope to see some of you on the sideline this weekend- we’ll be ready!
Alumnae present at the game: Emma Lennon ’11, Ariel “Racing Snake” Smith ’11, Amelia “Magic” Magistrali ’09, Celey Schumer ’09