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When people think of women’s rugby, they often joke that our girls “play for the other team,” but Saturday that is exactly what we did.  Amherst arrived on the pitch with only seven players, so we graciously loaned them some of our bravest souls. We played tens (like MCWRC is composed of), and really brought our game, and their game, to us/them. Stevie “Hit Me” Durocher, naturally called for a maul and we scored off of it. Ella scored her first ever try!  And Katherine played her first ever rugby game in an Amherst jersey. Though it was pouring rain and the mud was all over us like the boys at Atwater,we won the game 58-10. With alumni back for homecoming, our game really hit home—literally when Franny tackled Tina. We would like to thank our alumnae for restraining themselves from going out there on the pitch with us, and instead cheering us on! MCWRC is MCWRC whether you’re in a purple jersey, a blue jersey, or a koala shirt (shout out to Mini)!

It was a tense day when we entered the field against UMO. It was a day that would decide whether we went to playoffs and we were about to risk anything—Franny put on the American Flag headband with extra precision. When we walked on that field we came out ready to play, bringing it to them. UMO’s faces matched the color of their jerseys when the saw us: pale white from fear. We hit hard, we hit fast, and we were a hit!– our many fans going wild on the side lines (shout out to Maggie). Big Heat scored twice, unleashing her inner spirit animal: a 5’11 and 1/4 British Center. Laura had an amazing run with a grubber kick which, like any guys she’s tried to get rid of, bounced right back into her arms. Miss Hoffman (as her elementary school kids call her) also scored two conversion kicks. Katy Svec broke UMO’s hearts and through their defense scoring against all odds, and Tina will be shooting the boot this Saturday after her first try of the season. To add insult to injury (considering their two injured UMO players), Stevie, Sarah Sicular, and Lissa all scored trys. We ended 39-7—MCWRC’s playing this weekend was, put simply, magnificent.

Contrary to popular belief, Wednesdays are not the only wet days—a lesson we learned quickly at Williams. After an early drive through the rain, we arrived at Williamstown in Massachusetts greeted by a fabulous rainstorm and Svec’s parents. Playing rugby in the rain is like doing homework hungover: You’ll do it, but it’s a lot harder and feels like it takes twice as long. Regardless, it was a great game for MCWRC. In the first half of the game, Brenna scored her first try, Sylvia killed at scrum half, and Stevie executed an excellent maul—those centers, always like to be the center of everything, classic Drevie. Big Heat make an excellent try, akin to that of the beautiful Emily Scarratt, and Franny made her hits like a class with Murray Dry: hard and fast. The Rookies played their hearts (and in one not-so-ideal case knee-caps) out!! And all the while Gondola-boy made a guest appearance in the stands, despite the weather. At the end of the game the score was 50-5. We stuck around for a B-side game, but after 8ish minutes the lighting warning went off (probably because of a breakaway from Tina) so we had to take off. Overall it was a great day for rugby and I hope to be back in the Berkshires again!

This last week we played Bates. After a long haul up in several different cars and a stop at Dunkin, we arrived at the field… which was more like an oven than a field. I should clarify that the field was made of turf, which had been baking in the hot sun all day until the time of our game (1:00). Needless to say after kick-off, things got heated. Luckily, a try was scored by miss Brenna… or wait, was it Stevie? I get those two confused. I know they both play backs… and sometimes play scrum half. Anyways one of those two ( I think it was Stevie) scored a hat trick plus two. That’s not like a rugby expression, she just scored five times. About a quarter of the way into the game, the ref made us play uncontested scrums, which, for any of our fans out there, is why “Brita’s legs were so straight.” We had bunch of new players and props to them!– literally, some of them played prop. Miss Sylvia scored her first try, and many more points because that girl’s got a crazy-good boot on her! She will be shooting the boot at our next singing. Thanks to the hard work of our rookies, the sweat of our team, and the side-lines water-girls we ended up winning 74-0.

Next week we’ll start enjoying a new witty blog-post pair, but for now I want to give a quick recap of our last two games.

Last weekend we went down to Tufts after only a few practices and were unsure of what to expect.  The game ended up being a good one, and despite a little bit of frantic play, we held them off to a score of 5-14, with Sarah Kravitz (’16) at flyhalf scoring our try.  Everyone agreed that even though we lost, it felt like a victory after last year’s emotional and rough-and-tumble match.

This weekend we faced off against Colby, and our defenses were not quite up to their All-American outside center’s break-aways, and she scored all 4 of their tries.  We lost, but it was a beautiful day for rugby, and we even put some brand new rookies out on the field.  Our own Stevie Durocher (‘15.5) scored two tries for a final score of 10-31.

Next week we head up to Maine to play at Bates!

This Saturday we traveled to Dartmouth to participate in the Division 2 bracket of their 7s tournament. We weren’t sure what to expect, having never played 7s before, but were excited to try this new form of rugby and learn a lot! To our surprise and excitement, we ended up winning the tournament with a 3 – 0 – 1 record. Scores and scorers are listed below.

Colgate: 10 – 10
Colgate (5)
Emily Duh (5)
Stevie Durocher (5)
Colgate (5)

Bowdoin: 27 – 0
Sarah Minahan (5)
Emily Duh (5)
Sarah Minahan (5)
Emily Duh (5) (2)
Molly Benedetto (5)

Brown B Side: 26 – 10
Katie Linder (5) (Duh – 2)
Sarah Sicular (5) (Duh – 2)
Sarah Sicular (5) (Duh – 2)
Sarah Minahan (5)
Brown (5)
Brown (5)
Dartmouth B Side: 24 – 12
Sarah Minahan (5)
Dartmouth (7)
Emily Duh (5) (2)
Stevie Durocher (5) (Duh – 2)
Molly Benedetto (5)
Dartmouth (5)

 

Last weekend we headed down to Rhode Island to compete in the largest collegiate rugby tournament in the eastern United States. We were a bit nervous going into it, having just 15 people with no subs.

The first day week came out hard and gained two well-earned wins in the first round of pool play over Wentworth and Brandeis. With these high scores, we were able to go into the quarterfinals on Sunday with the number 1 seed.

Unfortunately our opponent in the quarterfinals, Franklin Pierce did not show up and we won by forfeit. Our next game was the semifinal match up with Roger Williams, which we won 43 – 0 despite some issues with penalties. Finally, we met Plymouth State in the final and won the D 3 Women’s Championship title with a score of 19 – 5.

We were incredible proud of our ability to dominate this tournament, given our lack of subs and limited ability to practice this spring due to weather. Every player did an excellent job, and we returned to Vermont with an aggregate score of 137 – 5, and a shiny trophy cup!

Day 1
Wentworth: 43 – 0
Brandeis: 32 – 0

Day 2
Franklin Pierce:  forfeit
Roger Williams: 43 – 0
Plymouth: 19 – 5

 

Final Score, 67 – 0, win

It was a truly beautiful day for rugby as we headed to Amherst’s  home field in the lovely Pioneer Valley.

After a difficult loss against Colby we were ready to come out hard against Amherst and play 80 minutes of strong, competitive rugby. After a few minutes of offensive attack, outside center Emily “The Fast and the Furious” Duh (’14) ran the ball within a meter of the try line, allowing scrum half Sarah “You’re Gonna Hear Me Roar” Minahan (’14) to pick it up and place it just over the line for our first try of the game.

Another series of beautiful attack got us to our offensive 22-meter line. A knock-on allowed an Amherst scrum, however a strong collective drive from our powerful forwards won the ball for Middlebury. Sarah Minahan picked the ball off the scrum and ran it in for the second try of the game.

Lightening quick balls out, hard rucking, and the incredibly fast feet of Emily “Too Fast Too Furious” Duh led to try number 3. No sooner had we set up to receive again when a naïve Amherst kicked it straight into the arms of Emily “Tokyo Drift” Duh, who proved to be untackleable, running through the entire Amherst defense and straight into the try zone.

Not two minutes later, Emily “Fast & Furious” Duh passed a quick ball to full back Tiff “Walking Co-op” Chang (’17) allowing her to put her name on the board.

Middlebury’s forwards and backs worked together seamlessly, both in rucks and offensive lines. Especially strong rucking from prop Katie “Early Bird Special” Linder (’15) and hard runs from wing Heather “Judy Blume” Tourgee (‘17) kept the play in the Amherst defensive half. After a series of aggressive scrums and strong offense, Emily “Fast & Furious 4” Duh scored her third try, making it a hat-trick.

After the seventh received kick-off from Amherst, Middlebury again battled their way to the opposing try line. Inside center Marissa “Who Needs a Pinky?” Shaw (’14) pulled a classic and took the ball off of a ruck, plowed through the unsuspecting Amherst, and scored yet another try.

After a brief intermission, Middlebury kicked off to Amherst. Amherst led a valiant effort, driving down the field nearly to Middlebury’s try-line. Middlebury reclaimed the ball and the counter-attack began. A breakaway run by fly half Sarah “Silent But Deadly” Kravitz (’16), followed by an offload to Tiff Chang allowed her to score her second try of the game.

Amherst conceded a penalty just in front of their uprights, allowing Emily “Fast Five “ Duh to put another 3 points on the board. Shortly after, Amherst conceded another penalty within 5 meters of their defensive try line. Sarah Minahan popped it off to lock Molly “Yellow Brick Bridge” Benedetto (’14) who fought off tackle after tackle to place the ball into the try zone for her FIRST TRY EVER! Tears were shed by members of both teams, fans, and the ref.

To finish off the game, Emily “Fast and Furious Six” Duh danced her way effortless through the Amherst defensive line yet again for the tenth and last Middlebury try of the game.

It was a great game from all players. Shout out to our loose forwards, Brita “Sorry France is Closed” Fisher (’15), Lissa “Don’t Tell Me What To Do” Ortega (’17), and Franny “Get Low” Suarez (’17) for their impressive tackling, and to inside center Marissa Shaw for incredible runs, ball handling, and tackling. Also a very happy birthday to hooker Canary “Finally Legal” Ly (’17), and thank you to the parents who brought snacks and cheer.

We look forward to taking on Bates in our last regular season game this Saturday! Hope to see you there.

First Half
Sarah Minahan – 5 (Emily Duh – 2)
Sarah Minahan – 5 (Emily Duh – 2)
Emily Duh – 5 (Emily Duh – 2)
Emily Duh – 5 (Emily Duh – 2)
Tiff Chang – 5 
Emily Duh – 5 (Emily Duh – 2)
Marissa Shaw – 5
 
Second Half
Tiff Chang – 5 (Emily Duh – 2)
Emily Duh – 3
Molly Benedetto – 5
Emily Duh – 5 (Emily Duh – 2)

 

 

 

 

Final Score, 5 – 14, loss

It was a fairly evenly matched game, but we weren’t able to fight Colby off at the rucks and they had some great runners that went through our defensive line. 7 – 0 at the half, with another try early in the second half for 14 – 0. We finally stepped it up for the last 30 minutes or so of the game with a try from 8-man Marissa Shaw (’14).

First Half
Colby – 7

Second Half
Colby – 7
Marissa Shaw – 5

Final Score, 5 – 29, Loss

We headed down to Tufts this weekend to play our 3^rd NESCAC game of the season. Going into what we knew would be a hard game, we were looking to work on an aggressive defensive line, strong tackles and supporting our teammates.

It was a hard first half with great playing from both teams. The game felt evenly matched, but due to our lack of ability to cover the outside and playing down a player for much of the half, Tufts managed to score two tries by running down the outside line.

Despite being down a player, we fought hard and held off Tufts for much of the second half as well. They scored pretty early in the half, which we retaliated with our own try. After a great series of attack coming from both forwards and backs, we received a scrum within about 10 meters of our try line. 8-man Marissa “Pinky” Shaw (’14) took the ball off the scrum, went weak and popped it off to scrum half Sarah “Ricky Ricardo” Minahan (’14) who ran it in and touched it down for a try.

Shortly after this Tufts gained possession and got a quick run down the side line. Luckily full back Stevie “Drevie” Durocher (’15.5) was there to take her down and saved us from another try. Unfortunately, this cost Stevie a leg injury and we had to play out the rest of the second half with just 13 players. Despite this set back, we held Tufts off for most of the half, maintaining much of the possession and playing mostly in their half. In the last few minutes they finally broke through our defensive line for 2 more tries for a final score of 29 – 5.

Shout out to full back Tiff “2 Changz” Chang (’17) for her hard work, great runs and tackles. Amazing hits and runs by fly half Kyra “R-e-s-p-e-c-t” Grey (’17) and inside center Emily Duh (’14). Great rucking from lock Molly “Janis Ian” Benedetto (’14) and prop Katie “AARP” Linder (’15).

It was a hard loss, but we played our hearts out and left everything on the field. It was a truly impressive game, and personally I’ve never been so proud of my team.

Thanks to our family, friends and alums who made it to the game; Jess Berry (’13), Hannah Elkin (’13), Evan Pagano (’12), Melissa Hayes (’12), and Logan Gallogaly (’12) all made it out and it was great to see them and have their support!

Next week we play Colby at home for parents weekend! 10:00am at the rugby pitch, see you there!

 

First Half
Tufts – 5
Tufts – 5, 2

Second Half
Tufts – 5
Sarah Minahan – 5
Tufts – 5, 2
Tufts – 5