Photo: Tony Berry (see more)
Fort Miami is 6-0 in DII Florida and guaranteed a berth to the state championship on April 21. The team is methodically working through a check list that ends at the DII national final but is focusing energies only on the next objective.
“We actually are not looking forward to anything but the next step,” explained Fort Miami veteran Katie McAuley. “We haven’t discussed nationals. We are taking each team and each step like it is the hardest game of the season. We look at the games coming up next and we look at their game plan and make slight changes to how we will change what we had from the previous week, as each team brings the heat in different areas.”
Fort Miami was reminded of that required focus last weekend. Orlando (3-3) scored two tries through Shannon Steele and Jamie Vance before Fort Miami answered, and it wasn’t until the second half that the southern Florida side overtook the lead for good.
Both teams scored four tries, with Courtney Allen and Sarah Rae also dotting down for Orlando, and captain Kristi Schnepp, Simone Lumsden and Virginia Perez (2) accounted for Fort Miami’s tries. The difference in the 27-20 decision to Fort Miami was two conversions and a penalty from flyhalf Marie Zeoli.
“I think we got a little too comfortable, as Orlando brought it out the last game and put up a great fight,” recounted McAuley, who also noted that three players and a coach were absent due to the USA Rugby South Panthers in Savannah. “I don’t think we really showed up at all that game. We just weren’t there. … We actually needed that. It fueled all of our fires. We have screwed our heads back on and are ready for the next steps in the season.”
Games against Jacksonville (4-2) and Tampa Bay (1-5) will round out the matrix season, and then Fort Miami will play either Jacksonville or Orlando in the Florida state championship on April 21 in Wellington. The victor will advance to the Southern Conference’s final four weekend (May 5-6 at Southern Pines, N.C.) for the berth to the national quarterfinals. Fort Miami is the reigning South champion and has returned 16 players from that title run. Schnepp and Tatum Walker serve as captains.
“We have a roster 33 deep so that is exciting, probably the most girls we have had in a while that are healthy and fighting for spots,” McAuley added.
Host Carolinas, who receive two spots to the Southern Conference championship despite Florida winning last year’s title, and the True South will also head to Southern Pines for the competitive region championship in early May.