When Air Force competed in the 2015 DI fall championship, the team was somewhat surprised to find itself there. A new coaching staff that didn’t begin until September scrambled to get the eager but young team moving in the same direction. After a shock-to-the-system season-opener against BYU, the Academy team went on to beat the West before falling a converted try short of UCONN in the fall final. But those experiences proved useful and aided Air Force in its return to this year’s fall championship.
Air Force defeated Rocky Mountain opponents Colorado University and Colorado State handily, twice, for the official bid to the fall playoffs, but the Academy also played friendlies against New Mexico, Navy, BYU and Army. The latter two games were especially rewarding, as those losses exposed weaknesses in Air Force’s game.
“We have a pretty young team. There are a lot of freshmen in the 23 every week,” said Air Force coach Amy Rusert, thinking specifically of the back line. “They are good defenders, good at the point of contact, and they have good skills. But it’s different when they’re tested systematically. When we played BYU and Army, those games served to exploit more of our system defense versus one-on-one point of contact. That’s what Army did a great job of doing. We probably could have prepared more on defense, but we knew we’d be starved of possession and have to respond.”
As the post-season approached, the team prepared as if it was going to replay BYU or Army. The coaching staff empowered the players to self-evaluate, and after every game, the team convened to discuss areas of improvement and future adjustments. By the time the floor opened up to the coaches, there was typically little to discuss. Meanwhile, players learned how to talk to each other constructively and felt free to take risks on the pitch.
Air Force was, generally, in a good place as it readied for the western portion of the DI fall quarterfinals. The team was missing one regular starter, and budgetary constraints saw the team disperse among six different houses belonging to USAFA supporters in Dayton, Ohio. Creativity was needed in assembling team meetings, but the Panera Bread in Fairfield, Ohio, became the unofficial headquarters for the weekend.
But no one anticipated the snafu that preceded game day. Half of the team, which included several key starters, was stranded in Atlanta the night before the fall quarterfinal against Texas A&M. A lot of stress and coordination and luck eventually saw the players arrive an hour before the kickoff, but their status was uncertain until the very end.
“Next woman up,” Rusert summarized the players’ mindset. “Just go forward. We were going to play regardless – assuming we had the minimal threshold of players. There was a little sleep deprivation [for the late arrivals] but they were in good spirits and ready to go. The rest of the team was glad to have them.”
Rusert praised Texas A&M’s work in and around the breakdown, but ultimately Air Force triumphed 66-14 in the fall quarterfinal.
“Sometimes they like to come out slow, like they’re continuing the warmup a few minutes into the game,” Rusert said. “They came out hard and fast, and the coaches were pleased they maintained that tempo and continuity throughout the whole game.”
The coaches watched Minnesota defeat Rutgers on the other side of the bracket and noted the same power in the scrums and forward pack that had been on display during the teams’ run-in at the 2015 playoffs. On Sunday’s semifinal, Air Force took the first lead with an early penalty kick before Minnesota scrumhalf Averie Mitchell-Brown scored, 5-3. In the final 15 minutes of the first half, Air Force scored three tries to Minnesota’s one for the 22-10 lead. Air Force pulled away in the second half, dotting down four more tries for the 44-15 win.
“The tight five, they’re not the group that’s scoring – although one lock, Simone Duryea, was the first to put a try on the board [for Air Force] and then followed with another quick try. That was a huge rally cap moment that ignited the rest of the team,” Rusert considered standout performances on the weekend. “The tight five are the unsung heroes. They’re incredibly small, and we prepare for a lot of different scenarios. We’ve got scoring and attacking assets all over the field between the back row and back line, but a lot of that has to do with the great work that’s done by the tight five at the breakdown and running in support.”
Air Force pulled out two difficult wins during an unconventional, stressful weekend, and the victories served as validation. The team was tickled to learn that UCONN (read more about the Huskies’ season) was awaiting in the final, again. There is a sense of unfinished business, but the team is also eager to gauge itself against the inexperienced squad that managed to finish second last year.
The DI fall championship will be live-streamed for free via The Rugby Channel at 11 a.m. EST, Sunday, Dec. 4.