UC Irvine in a fall friendly against DI UCSD /// Photo: Paul Rudman / KLC fotos (see more) •
Two games into the DII Gold Coast season and interest is already spiking. Traditional powerhouse UC Riverside forfeited its season-opener.* Last year’s national runner-up, Southern California (USC), then dropped a 60-10 contest to UC Irvine Saturday. If the ranks are tightening up, then that means a bevy of good games this spring.
Irvine surprised itself against USC – both in its capability to put lots of points on the board and to rally from a deficit. The Trojans led 10-0 with 20 minutes gone, and that’s when the cast of mature veterans and dangerous outside backs took control.
“They really weathered the storm, stuck with it, and good things happened for us as the game went on,” UC Irvine coach Andrew Mase said of the turn-around. “We made a few subs, but we just collected ourselves. … We got much more direct with our attack, and flyhalf Virginia Ruano did a good job attacking the defensive line instead of being a transfer point with the ball. From there, we quit trying to do too much and straightened up and ran at the defense a little more.”
Ruano opened the scoring herself, converting her own try, the first of her 20 points on the day. Replacement hooker Symone Muepo showed no sign of a recovering ACL injury and dotted down the go-ahead try that Ruano converted, 14-10 into the half.
“She’s a really strong, vocal player,” Mase said of Muepo, a junior and ICEF alumna. “She’s smart and inquisitive about the game. When she came into the USC game, she made an immediate impact. She’s definitely one of our leaders.”
In the second half, Elona Williams went on a rampage, scoring five tries to keep Irvine’s cushion comfortably intact. Outside center Priya Kaur and Muepo also scored tries, while Ruano handled the kicking duties and added a dropgoal to boot.
“They measured their excitement and didn’t focus on the scoreline,” said Mase, who reiterated that the score flattered them. “We had a few major lapses in defense off of set pieces, and that’s how USC put in a couple of easy tries – a credit to them and nice, well worked moves.
“The score [against] wasn’t higher because we have some very good tacklers,” the coach referenced players like openside flanker Selina Eich. “But they realized that, against a better team, that performance probably wasn’t enough.”
Defensive organization and stable lineouts will be prime areas of focus going forward, especially as the team prepares for CSU Long Beach. Irvine played the 49ers at Scrum by the Sea in November and Mase pegged Long Beach as the most complete team in the league.
“We’re strong, but we have vulnerabilities,” Mase said. “Long Beach is always strong. … Claremont has good organization, a good coach and is good enough to beat the top teams on a good day. Grand Canyon is new to the league as well. It’s my understanding that they’re a new team but have a lot of support from the school.”
And with teams like UC Riverside and USC providing some room at the top, Mase is excited.
“It’s a good time to be in our league,” he said. “There’s no off-week – all of the games are competitive. It’s not a one-horse race.”
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* The opening paragraph has been edited. The original version of this article indicated that UC Riverside was light in numbers based on nine players registered, but the club actually has two accounts in USA Rugby’s CIPP database. The second account shows 25 registered players.