Walsh returns to the Falcon uniform. /// Photo courtesy Falcon Family •
Notre Dame College started its National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) season with a 27-17 win over Norwich University, the closest decision of the five varsity matches last weekend. The game was important to the Falcons, which suffered a big loss to the Cadets last year in the teams’ only other head-to-head.
But Notre Dame College coach Mark Andrade indicated that the team is very different this year. For one, this year’s recruiting class all hailed from Ohio (save one Wisconsin player), as opposed to previous years, and that familiarity saw the freshmen bond quickly. The team also returned important players like captain Lea Walsh and Alex Strasser to the backline, which is now directed by backs coach Andrew Martin. Behind the halfback pairing of Danielle Walko-Siua and Karmin Macedo, the outside attack was more effective than last season.
The pack is different, too, this year. It welcomed back Kayla Rudman from injury, and the hooker is bookended by props Najya Jordan and Leslie Velez, the anchors. The Falcons are missing the influence of recent grad Patsy Ford, but is making the necessary adjustments.
“We knew going into this season that we wouldn’t be as big a pack this year, so we’re getting the forwards out with the backs more and aren’t running traditional pods,” Andrade said. “We move to Emilia Ferrara [from fullback] to lock. She has a lot of experience and confidence playing with ARPTC this summer, and she’ll help keep the forwards together.”
Ferrara joins fellow sophomore Meckena Hultin in the second row and the Fallbrook, Calif., product asserted herself Saturday. Her tackle rate was solid and she was instrumental on defense during several goal-line stances. The new second row saw Hannah Long move to the loose forwards, and having the hard-hitting playmaker more involved around the pitch proved fruitful.
But it took some time for Notre Dame College to settle into its home opener. The wind thwarted the Falcons’ kicking game and actually helped set up one of Norwich’s two first-half tries, which came from Jordan Day and Alanna Girardin. But despite some nerves and penalties, Notre Dame College answered with two tries in the first 40. Norwich flanker Sheila Decker converted both of her team’s scores, and so the Cadets led 14-10 into the break.
The Falcons focused on cleaning up the rucks and penalties in the second half, and the maturity of captain Walsh helped mitigate any frustration that might have been building. Decker added a penalty to push the scoreline to 17-10, but heads-up thinking saw Walsh take advantage of an uncharacteristic break in discipline from the Cadets.
“Norwich started bringing water out after the penalty kick, so Lea just kicked [the restart] deep. We chased it and then pinned them down by their 10,” Andrade said. “We were playing with the wind in the second half, so the Cadets had trouble kicking it out of their end. We eventually ended up punching it in and took away their momentum.”
In the final quarter, Notre Dame College scored 17 points. On the day, Long, Walsh, Strasser and Marcaya Bailous scored tries, while Ferrara kicked two conversions, and Walko-Suia tacked on a penalty, 27-17.
“It was a big event, especially the fact that it was one of the toughest teams in the country and they thumped us pretty bad last year,” Andrade said. “And all the injured players, they were dying to get back out there. I know Lea was really emotional about coming back to play.”
The Falcons take this weekend off before heading to NIRA champion Quinnipiac on the 24th. Norwich will play the Bobcats in Vermont on Saturday.
In other NIRA news, Army defeated Dartmouth 63-12, and Quinnipiac shut out AIC 44-0 in Tier 1. In Tier 2, Sacred Heart bettered Castleton 45-10, while University of New England beat Molloy 68-10.