Photo courtesy Vassar Athletics •
Vassar shares the most similarities with its DII fall semifinal counterparts. Like Coast Guard, the Brewers played a full fall schedule with few interruptions or unexpected travel, allowing for a natural build from regular season through post-season. But like Winona and Davenport, the Poughkeepsie, N.Y., team has yet to be truly tested on the defensive side of the ball, and the Panthers will be asking some tough questions come Saturday’s semifinal.
Vassar is 11-1 this fall, when including friendlies. That loss (38-34) came at the hands of DI varsity West Chester, and the team’s closest DII games were contested against Albany and its hard-charging forwards. The pair met in the regular season, conference final and fall quarterfinals, and all three matches went to Vassar.
“Last weekend’s games really showed us that our team has become quite good at offense and at keeping shape,” Nathalie Freeman, one of three Vassar captains, had stated after the fall Round of 16 and quarterfinal wins. “We were able to control the ball for most of both games, and when we lost possession we were able to get it back pretty quickly.”
During that two-game weekend in which the Brewers beat the University of Vermont 69-0 and Albany 34-5, outside center Laila Blumenthal-Rothchild scored five tries, while flanker Freeman (4), fullback Rachel Elson (3) and inside center Alicia Menard-Livingston (2) added multiple five-pointers. Co-captain and flyhalf Mary Margaret McElduff accounted for 23 points on nine conversions and a try.
“We would like to play a game that is very defense-focused – we want our players to be excited to tackle and ruck, and to be able to do these things well when the time comes – but at this point, the games we have played haven’t given us much of an opportunity to practice our defense,” Freeman added. “We are playing an organized and level game, for the most part, but our defensive capabilities will only become evident to us once we are in South Carolina.”
This is slightly new territory for Vassar. The Brewers’ previous two fall quarterfinals have been thrillers – 15-10 win over Bowdoin in 2015, and 22-20 loss to Kutztown in 2014. In 2013, Vassar had a bit of an easier time advancing to the fall semifinals, but saw more competitive matches (like a 22-17 conference title win over Stony Brook) earlier in the season.
“Honestly, I never had very high expectations both times we went to the final four,” senior McElduff reflected on her freshman and junior years. “This year is different though! I have every intention to get to the finals, and I expect a much better game than we had at the round of four [against Winona State] last year. Our coaches have really been reiterating the fact that when we get to this higher level of competition, we are going to have to be ready to defend a lot more than we are used to in our conference games. … We’ve been focusing a lot on our defensive organization so hopefully that will translate to the games in South Carolina.”
A test indeed awaits in the form of reigning DII national champion Davenport. Read more about the Panthers’ difficult build-up, among other struggles this fall. On the other side of the bracket is Coast Guard vs. Winona State. The Bears knocked off Bloomsburg and St. Michael’s two weekends ago (read more), and the Black Katts topped the Midwest.
For more information on this weekend’s fall championship, read USA Rugby’s welcome packet. Note that it does not include broadcast details, but the games will be live-streamed.