Michigan vs. Ohio State /// Photo courtesy Michigan Women’s Rugby •
The Big 10 saw three significant matches occur last weekend. The Michigan vs. Ohio State rivalry played out; Notre Dame put in a massive rally against traditional victor Indiana; and Rutgers was initiated into the league against champion Penn State.
Notre Dame got off to a slow start against Indiana and found itself in a 26-7 hole after the first half. Captain Alexandra Buccilli focused on the positive notes when the team regrouped during halftime.
“We did some good things in phases and couldn’t quite connect them into the try zone,” Buccilli explained. “I knew we were behind at halftime but I didn’t know the score. I try not to think about the score specifically, because I don’t want to focus on it nor do I want my teammates to focus on it. … We had to focus on connecting the good things to have continuous phases of good play.”
The team focused on the basics, running its attack pattern and remaining diligent in support. The Fighting Irish’s focus on fitness began to show itself and helped the Indiana side through a tough, physical battle.
During the first 10 minutes of the second half, Grace McGurn scored the second of her three tries, while freshman Grace Kiraly added the team’s third score. Sophie Asah converted all three, and now it was a 26-21 game to Indiana.
“Our fullback, Sophie Asah, had a great game,” Buccilli praised. “[Indiana] kicked quite a bit and she worked hard to field those kicks, making huge runs afterwards. She also made some great tackles, scored and kicked in conversions.”
Indiana dotted down once more to push the point differential to 33-21, but Notre Dame answered with three unanswered tries from Abbie Wood, Asah and McGurn. Asah and Wood added a conversion apiece for the 40-33 win.
“The win against [Indiana] is just a testament of the potential our team has and the start of us realizing that potential,” Buccilli reflected. “It reaffirms our notions of strength in fitness and strength in family.”
In the eastern pool, the Michigan vs. Ohio State match is always of interest, but the Wolverines dominated in 54-12 win.
“Key differences that I think allowed us to win were our ability to get to the breakdowns faster than OSU and effectively secure [and] recycle the ball quickly,” Michigan’s Gaia Cicerchia assessed. “We also had tight, precise passing along the back line that allowed us to effectively get the ball to the wing [and] outside, especially after set plays. This allowed us to make many runs on the outside that enabled us to make big gains to move forward as well as score tries via breakaways.”
Most of Michigan’s tries evolved from line-breaks and were finished by the backs. Women’s Collegiate All-American and inside center Alena Olsen, outside center Megan Melton and wing Fatuo Ndaw scored two tries apiece, while wing Kat Maloof and scrumhalf Ariana Castillo also dotted down. Prop Whitney Smith represented the forwards on the scoreboard with a try.
Cicerchia commended Ohio State’s hard carries in the forwards, who were also dangerous in the lineout.
Michigan now prepares for Rutgers, the Big 10 newcomers. The New Jersey team recorded its first appearance Saturday when it took on Penn State, which won 98-5. The Nittany Lions spread the ball, finishing scoring opportunities from a variety of positions. Multi-try-scorers included wing Katie O’Hare, who led the field, and centers Gianna Solomon and Tess Feury. Kyla Chipman, Amanda Berta, Maggie Carly, Az Nalbandian, Maddie McCormick, Tea Stewart and Katie Sayer also scored.
For more information on the Big 10, visit the conference website at www.big10rugby.com.
For more results on the weekend, check out the score report.
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