The DI fall college playoffs are nearly set now that the Northeast has contested its championship, and once again, UCONN is the top team out of the conference. The Huskies defeated Boston College 48-0 in the semifinals and Boston University 35-10 in the final. Boston University advanced to the title match after bettering Rhode island 43-14 and advances to the DI fall play-in round against Kent State this Saturday.
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“We’re a well balanced team. We score from different areas and aren’t reliant on 1-2 players like a lot of the teams we seem to be playing at the moment,” said UCONN head coach Mark Jordan. “We vary our attack depending on who we’re playing. Defensively, we’re squeaky tight, and that’s been the difference between us and the competition.”
But it was a work in progress. UCONN entered the fall after graduating 18 players. Jordan, assistant coach Gabby Benitez (former UCONN captain and current Southington High School coach), forwards captain Lily Fontes (flanker) and backs captain Alexa Reilly (scrumhalf) were charged with shaping 50 members into A and B sides. The captains are also two of the remaining four starters – Sara Rothery and Rachel Gomes being the others – who helped UCONN to its 2015 fall title and know the demands of post-season play.
In rebuilding the team, the Huskies inherited some promising new talent, including some athletic sophomores who transferred from crew. They inject power and pop into the scrum and are challenging for A side time. Girls’ High School All-American Zoe Duffield is also making an impact, and her arrival couldn’t have been more timely, considering the halfback graduations this season.
UCONN advanced through the regular season 5-0, outscoring opponents 199-22. And true to Jordan’s comments, the scores came from all over the field. During league, loose forwards Fontes, Brianna Kinnie and Christa Amoia and prop Shayna Kennedy prevailed in the try zone. In the backs, Gomes, Brandice Neal and Allison Gorman were among the high scorers.
“They’re playing with confidence at the moment and they’re enjoying each other’s company,” said Jordan. “They are a big family and quite close this year. That helps with the game plans. They help each other a lot on the field and collectively figure out how to deal with the opposition.”
That said, Jordan was anxious heading into the weekend. Everything could go wrong with one misstep on Saturday. Fortunately for UCONN and Boston University, which finished atop the regular-season standings, the teams received byes through the first round of conference playoffs. The eventual finalists watched as Rhode Island shut out UMASS 58-0, and Boston College bettered Northeastern 31-19 to earn semifinal berths.
Later that day, URI and Boston College were back on the pitch to face fresh teams. UCONN beat Boston College 48-0, and Boston University defeated Rhode Island 43-14.
Sunday had a full slate of games and saw Northeastern take fifth over UMASS (37-7) and Boston College beat Rhode Island 19-15 for third. In the final, UCONN defeated Boston University 35-10.
“The weekend tournament was a great success with all teams turning up ready to play on both days, even those playing for only pride on Sunday,” Jordan reflected. “It provided us with some meaningful competition prior to Annapolis, especially in the final where BU gave us a good game, as a plus allowing us to get quality time for some subs and no injuries.”
Boston University will now host Allegheny’s Kent State on Nov. 11 during the DI fall play-in round. The victor will join the eastern portion of the DI fall quarterfinals at the U.S. Naval Academy and face the Big Ten’s Notre Dame. UCONN will play host Navy on Nov. 18.
View the full DI and DII college fall brackets here.