Bend captain Kylie Hahn / All Photos: Mara Burnell Photo/Media
The DII Pacific Northwest plays its final round of league games this weekend, and then the top four teams head to Seattle for the championship on April 14-15. Bend is currently undefeated to lead the standings, and although the Oregon team has experienced success the previous two years, is not getting distracted by its potential in the post-season.
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“Our forward pack lost a few influential players this past year, leaving rather large boots to be filled. Seeing some of our younger gals take charge and step into those positions has been extremely exciting,” Bend captain Kylie Hahn reviewed the team’s progress over the season. “Our backline has been fortunate enough to remain consistent the past few seasons, only strengthening our continuity with one another. With years of experience, and some amazing overall athletes, we have scoring threats from all over the field.”
The strength of the backline was immediately apparent in the season opener, as 15 of its 17 tries against Boise came through the backs.
“The fall portion of the season was a little tougher than the spring,” longtime Bend head coach Matt Burke tipped his hat to Boise, Portland, Eugene and Emerald City. “We started with a win over Boise … and that gave us a little confidence to start the season. Eugene and Salem kinda combined this year, so they’re pretty strong. That [27-12 game] was a good win. And then we went to Seattle to face the Mudhens. We certainly didn’t go there with any expectations of a decisive win.”
The previous two years, these two teams have been each other’s best competition and featured in the 2016 and 2017 league championship, splitting the titles. This regular-season match in October was rainy and on a turf pitch, and the home side built a 15-6 lead through the 55th minute.
Bend’s six points came from two Xela Goodman penalties, and the center knocked over another two within five minutes of each other, pulling the scoreline to 15-12. Danielle Link’s try gave the Lady Roughriders the lead, and then comprehensive back Elizabeth Hayden scored her 13th try of the fall. Goodman’s two conversions afforded the 26-15 win.
“It says a lot about us being a team that plays a full 80 minutes,” Burke said of the second-half comeback. “It was a big win for us. To beat them at home and in the rain – it meant a lot.”
Both teams ended the fall on that match. Bend rode that performance into the winter break and came out the other side for two big wins against Chuckanut Bay and ORSU thus far. The close loss was also beneficial to Seattle, and the team has banked spring wins against ORSU and Boise while reintegrating injured players.
“I’m very happy and very proud of the season we’ve had,” Burke said. “I’m most proud of our defense. We haven’t allowed very many points against. It has been a focus and we’ve been working hard on it, and it will continue to be a focus.”
Bend will end its regular season against Tacoma (2-5) and use the match to get more players field time. The Lady Roughriders are guaranteed a spot at the Pacific Northwest final four, as are Emerald City, Eugene and Portland per the standings. The GU champion will then report to San Francisco on April 28 to face the NorCal champion for the Pacific North berth to DII nationals.
“When you have an undefeated season, naturally there are some thoughts of going beyond the Northwest and trying to go as far as we can,” Burke said. “But we’re not trying to focus on that; we don’t want to get distracted. I think that’s what happened to Seattle two years ago when we upset them. We’re just concentrating on one match at a time.”
Burke further praised the current group of athletes, who remain driven and humble, despite the number of points they put on the scoreboard.
“We have a great team dynamic this spring, lots of positivity,” Hahn concluded. “We have also been fortunate enough to avoid injury – knock on wood. We are all excited about the direction this team is heading and finishing out our season strong!”