Charlotte is the new USA Rugby Division II Club National Champion, defeating St. Louis 46-28 in Glendale, Colo., for the trophy. It’s the first national title for the 47-year-old club, and the first time in DII club history that a team from the South and Frontier (or the former West territorial union) contested the national final.
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Charlotte played a well rounded game. Hard-charging forwards like Erika Everhart-Ayala and Sara Davis always made good ground through the middle, and halfbacks Nicole Benjamin and Maddy Clark deployed a back line that was always running onto the ball. Some of those passes went forward, or space wasn’t realized out wide, or a lineout throw went awry, but those mistakes didn’t derail a comprehensive team performance.
St. Louis certainly wasn’t without its highlights and in particular shone in the breakdown. That plucky work kept Charlotte from realizing several scoring opportunities in the opening minutes. Eventually Charlotte adjusted, getting its support to the tackle quicker, and the team was able to steal possession via other means – notably through a dominant scrum.
After nine minutes, however, Charlotte used a lineout to give No. 8 Davis a running start into the defense, and the championship MVP tore away for the game’s first try, which was converted by Clark, 7-0.
Minutes later, Jellkins Tilley’s line-break put Charlotte into scoring position again. St. Louis actually pushed a too-vertical Charlotte off the ruck, but lost its feet, and Clark took advantage with a three-pointer.
St. Louis built some momentum through the hard charges of Brittney David and the piercing ability of flyhalf Kate Kloster and outside center Dominesha Newton, who were also defensive work horses. But Charlotte stole St. Louis’ lineout on its 22-meter and did a great job of supporting the ball on the run. A quick tap penalty eventually saw flanker Kelly Sager dive over for a close-range score, 15-0.
St. Louis got on the board around minute 27, and the opportunity came after a nice Newton breakaway. Wing Meredith Schwartz picked from the base of the ruck to score and prop Anna Albrecht converted the try, 15-7. The teams traded tries before the break, as Charlotte captain Amanda Watkins tore down the sideline and connected with outside Elizabeth Ravaioli. Kloster put in a fantastic try-line tackle to prevent that effort from crossing but wing Erin Satterfield was there for the quick recycle and try.
A not-straight lineout handed possession to St. Louis and Kloster tore off the subsequent scrum for one of several weaving runs. Newton was there in support and finished with the try, converted by Albrecht, 20-14 into the break.
St. Louis had started to find its rhythm but Charlotte did well to reclaim the energy in the third quarter. Kloster broke the line again but Charlotte poached the ball after the chase-down and moved it to Ravaoili quickly for the try.
Clark returned play to St. Louis’ end when a penalty kick trickled to six inches of the Sabres’ try line. Wing Jolene Steibel had no choice but to field the ball, as Satterfield was on the chase and then tackled her opposite into the try zone. The Charlotte pack then stole a St. Louis scrum and lock Kala Clanton dotted down the team’s try, 32-14.
Charlotte started working in some truly effective subs, notably Katryna Romero as well as Raelyn Jehlik, who scored minutes after taking the pitch. Clark’s conversion gave Charlotte a 25-point lead, 39-14, but there was still the entire fourth quarter to play, and St. Louis was up for the chase.
Piercing runs from Newton and Whitney Smith saw forwards captain Mandy Smith finish off the efforts with a try. Kloster then broke free again and play settled on Charlotte’s five-meter. A free kick off the scrum saw Smith bull over for five, and Schwartz’s two conversions made it 39-28 with five minutes to play.
As the game wore down, a furious exchange of possession evolved and saw Ritter take advantage of the chaos for a second try. Clark’s conversion essentially ended the game, 46-28.
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