Jess Davis on the run against Albany. /// Photo: Cara Raulerson •
After advancing to the DI final in 2015, Beantown transitioned its coaching staff and experienced big player turnover. Chemistry was a work in progress, and it contributed to the New England team’s quarterfinal exit at nationals last spring. It was a disappointment, one that has been packed up and stored away, and Beantown has kicked off its league season with two wins and good, positive energy.
Beantown is getting 40-plus players to training and games, making for good competition and difficult selections. This year has seen an influx of quality players, from recent college graduates like former Dartmouth standouts Yeja Dunn and Tatjana Toeldte, among many other New England products; young Eagle prop Jess Davis; players back from hiatus, like hooker Danielle McDonagh; to a handful of key Boston transfers like Tara and Morgan Roberts and Michelle Noone.
“We’ve been really lucky with the new talent,” said Beantown coach Kelly Seary, who is aided by forwards coach Anne Flavin and former scrumhalf Jackie Hwang. “Having been with Beantown for a long time … recruiting is not one of our strong suits. The name still carries something to it, so players want to come play for us. It’s certainly helped to have Beantown alums coaching different colleges teams, which helps our feeder system.”
2016-17 began against Providence, a game that occurred during the Beantown collegiate tournament. It was a challenge running the event and also focusing on an important game, but the host ran out to a 36-5 win.
“We had uncontested scrums, so we weren’t able to see all parts of our play. But we got new folks on the field to get them familiar with our systems,” Seary reflected on season-opener takeaways. “We’ve been working on timing and connections, and had a lot of success this past weekend against Albany. They’re always a very tough and physical side.”
Beantown beat Albany 67-7 and saw standout performances from players like newcomer Noone, who has fit into the attacking style well and also caused a number of turnovers on defense. She has experience at flyhalf, so having that decision-making on the pitch has added a new wrinkle to Beantown’s attack. Colleen Higgins earned top honors in the forwards, getting the little things done in tight and working hard around the field. She did a good job using her footwork in contact to get behind the defense and start the go-forward for the team.
Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the game was Beantown’s mobile pack.
“I consider myself a thinking player, so it’s important to me that my players can understand the game and hopefully develop good vision,” Seary explained. “It’s more exciting for players to be able to make those kinds of decisions for themselves in open play. It’s a point of focus of mine. We are trying to stretch ourselves a little bit as far as using our forwards in a different way than what we relied on in the past.”
Beantown will place its renewed team in front of alumni on Oct. 8, when the club celebrates its 40th anniversary in a league match against Boston. There’s a long history between the two teams, and Beantown requested the match-up specifically for the anniversary.
“We have a good energy right now,” Seary said. “We have a very talented group, and right now we’re just excited to see where we can go with it.”
Beantown plays its next league match against DI addition Burlington on Oct. 1, and then after its anniversary match, both Boston teams will host the first round of the first-ever Gold Cup. The three-legged series pits the top two teams from the Atlantic North, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest against each other, and each region hosts a leg. On Oct. 15-16, NOVA and Raleigh will head north to Boston.