Schaefer scored York’s first try. /// Photo: Grace Creel •
The DII Mid-Atlantic conference opened up league play last weekend, hosting four games across the Tri-State and Pennsylvania divisions. The tensest match evolved between Shippensburg and York College, which were tied for the majority of the second half. With about five minutes remaining, York scored the go-ahead points and celebrated a 10-5 win against a team that has traditionally triumphed in this match-up.
“We need to get down to fundamentals more but did a lot of exciting stuff,” York coach Ashley Letten summarized. “We need to work on skills – not tackling, but passing and running onto the ball with speed. We were strong defensively, especially against the forwards-oriented Ship team. We rucked and counter-rucked well, and our scrums were excellent. We’ll have to go back to the drawing board on lineouts though.”
Forward captain Ashley Arean and backs captain Adelia Barnes are in their third years with the team, and direct the team on the pitch.
“I couldn’t ask for better captains,” Letten praised. “They’re both excellent, disciplined leaders. They tell the players what to do and they execute.”
Allison Schaefer is another one to watch. She moved from flanker to inside center this year and scored a long-range try to open up Saturday’s match. Schaefer brings that flanker tackling mentality to the backline and pairs nicely with Emily Clinton at outside center. Clinton is the essence of speed and dynamism, and both centers are big scoring threats.
Shippensburg answered with a try before the break, and the teams entered halftime at 5-5. There the game stood until the 75th minute.
“They were extremely composed and focused, even with the handful of brand-new players in their first game of rugby ever,” Letten said of the team as it chased the win. “Defensively, I couldn’t have asked for a better performance. They held off Shippensburg in our own 22 a few times, including a couple of penalty plays where they tries to run it in.”
Athletic No. 8 Sarah Hurley set the tone in the forwards, while newcomer Zakiyia Hawkins at lock impressed with her aggressive contributions. As the clock wore down, York was able to maintain possession in good attacking territory, long enough for flyhalf Barnes to scoop up the ball in loose play and dot down the go-ahead points. The defense then solidified and held on for the 10-5 win.
“Shippensburg has kinda been the one team that we’ve had difficulty getting past, so it meant a lot to start the season on the right note,” Letten said.
Letten knows a tough schedule lies ahead, especially as division mate Scranton posted a 62-7 win over Lock Haven Saturday. The ultimate prize would be a good showing against conference champion Bloomsburg, which advanced to last year’s DII fall semifinals.
In other conference news, Delaware recorded a 21-0 win over LaSalle, while St. Joseph’s shut out Rowan 65-0. This weekend sees the following match-ups:
Bloomsburg v East Stroudsburg
York v Lock Haven
Millersville v Shippensburg
Kutztown v LaSalle
College of NJ v Rowan
St. Joseph’s v Delaware
#York