Alex Ho photo (hoiho.net)
Once again Alex Ho (hoiho.net) has delivered stellar shots, this time capturing the DI Pacific Mountain conference season-opener between Stanford and Chico State. The teams traded scores inside Steuber Stadium, the Cardinal remained within a try’s reach of the Wildcats into the second half. But then a surge that produced three unanswered tries saw Chico State bank a 43-19 victory.
“We all stepped up and played Chico rugby,” Chico State forwards captain Becky Luedke reported. “We were getting the ball out from the rucks and getting it out nicely through the hands. The forwards were playing dynamic, running strong lines and breaking the gain line. Everyone was in support of everyone and we were on front foot most of the time.
“A few rookies came in and really stepped up with their play,” Luedke continued. “We need to work on a few things but together we all looked and played well. Overall it was a good game, especially in the second half, we picked up the pace and hit hard.”
Alyssa Pena ended the day with three tries, while Max Brissenden (2) and Ashley Evans also dotted down. Hannah Westfall added 13 points on a try and four conversions.
This weekend sees a bevy of action. In the PMRC West, Stanford and Chico State will travel to Humboldt to play the Lumberjacks, and UC Davis will play at Cal. In the PMRC North, all six teams contest their season-openers: Oregon State heads to Washington State, Boise State goes to Washingon, and Western Washington travels to Oregon.