Cassie Schultz scored a hat trick against St. Cloud State. /// Photo: Katie Derus •
Winona State picked up right where they left off two weekends ago after winning their 10th consecutive All Minnesota Tournament. Last Saturday the team opened up the DII Northern Lights against the Black Widows of St. Cloud State University for a 72-0 win.
Scoring recap:
It didn’t take long for junior #8 Megan Wolff to get things rolling as she picked up a rucked ball after a lineout and drove through the St. Cloud defense to touch down the first try of the day, 5-0.
A knock forward by Winona gave a scrum to SCSU, but the power from the Winona pack was too much. Flyhalf Cassie Schultz swung the ball to inside center Lachen Ester who broke the defensive line and found Schultz looping to her outside and she connected for a try, 10-0.
A quick footed An Tran stole a ball which allowed Wolff to pick up and gain a few meters. Captain Lanoira Duhart was there to pick and go, and drove herself over the line for the third corner try, 15-0.
Winona controlled the ball from the ensuing kickoff thanks to the rucking of freshman Kelsy Skala and sophomore Kari Jordan (named Player of the Match), allowing WSU to drive systematically up the field. St. Cloud’s defense was caught sleeping on the weak side and Wolff once again took the opportunity to slice through and dot down her second try of the day, 20-0.
A focus at training all week was getting into a few different attacking patterns when we received a kickoff, and the team was using some of the skills they worked on. A nice run by freshman prop Mikayla Leraas set up a nice platform to swing the ball out to the backs. St .Cloud’s flyhalf defended too hard, creating a large gap for sophomore Schultz to scamper through for her second try of the match. Wolff successful on the conversion, 27-0.
The ensuing kickoff went into the hands of flanker Amanda Custode, who made the first tackler miss and sprinted past the defense for 65 meters and the try. The successful conversion made it 34-0.
Winona used the entire fie.d in attempt to stretch the St. Cloud defense. Quickly rucked and moved out to the backline, Winona gained ground which caused SCSU to lose their defensive shape. Scrumhalf Elly Grossen recognized an overload and found Custode bursting at pace once again for the try, 39-0 into halftime.
A bit of offensive spark for St. Cloud was short lived thanks to the tackling of freshman wing Erin Simon and sophomore fullback Haley Cederberg who were quick to close down on a small surge that St Cloud was able to orchestrate. The open-field tackle found the St. Cloud runners isolated and allowed for Winona to poach the ball and get their offense rolling again. A quick hit off the side of the ruck found flyhalf Schultz touching down for the hat trick. Conversion from Wolff made it 46-0.
Encouraging the backs to be creative, flyhalf Schultz chipped a nice up-and-under kick which found the hands of a charging inside center Ester who eluded the last line of SCSU’s defense and scored her first try of the day. Wolff was successful on the conversion, 53-0.
Winona once again kept the ball secure with solid work from the forwards. Freshmen locks Gabby Calametti and Summer Downs found their way around the pitch, allowing the Katts to control the tempo and continue to attack with their fierce strikes to the weak side of the ruck. Winger Rachel Hanigan displayed some power as she took a crash ball setting up space for Winona to reverse the ball to the other side. Because of the ball control the forwards were providing, Grossen was able to swing the ball wide to the backline which found a looping Esters who took it into contact thereby setting up Wolff for her third try of the day. Wolff once again successful on the conversion, 60-0.
Winger Lizzy Streitz got the attack going once again after a long run up the sideline. Due to the strength and rucking skill of Duhart and Leraas they continually drew the St. Cloud defense closer to rucks as they tried to contest for possession. Esters, who had been slicing the defensive centers all day found herself in support of a forward attack and in position for an offload. She outpaced the lone defender and touched down her second of the half. Conversion was successful, 67-0.
Sophomore flanker Amy Scherer, who was a pest at the breakdowns all day, wasn’t going to be denied her opportunity as she received the ball inside 10 meters of the try line. Quick recycled ball by the Winona State backs found Scherer crashing up the side and she finished off the day with a try, 72-0.
In other Northern Lights news, North Dakota defeated North Dakota State 40-21. The North Dakota teams rejoined the DII conference, which now includes six teams. The league season is contested through Oct. 22.