NOVA in fall 2017 / Photo: Mark Brocker (see more)
The Mid-Atlantic teams currently lead the Gold Cup standings, as NOVA and Raleigh have swept the Atlantic North and most recently the Red River teams thus far. Round three will pit the 4-0 squads against the Midwest in two weekends.
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“Overall, I think Gold Cup is a very worthwhile event,” NOVA head coach Brian Walker reflected. “In particular for this week, I like the aspect of playing these two Red River Conference teams, who we wouldn’t normally see during the regular season. If there were a cost effective way to do even more of this, I would welcome the chance to see even more of the Western-based teams.”
NOVA’s weekend began against Austin, and the Valkyries, in the team’s first Gold Cup outing, came to play. Austin wing Caitlin Curley scored the first try 22 minutes before Lauren Hoeck and Ariel Johnson both scored. Rachel Primo’s conversion gave NOVA a 12-5 halftime lead, and then Steph Barros’ try opened up the second half, 17-5 to NOVA.
“Austin didn’t stop fighting though and they scored at 68 minutes to draw to 17-10,” Walker noted Vivien Greiser’s try. “They got back on the front foot deep in our zone and at one point were within five meters of scoring a try directly beneath the sticks. We had to make some desperate tackles to keep them out and were fortunate that they conceded a penalty for not releasing that gave us some space to clear our zone.”
The Valkyries kept the pressure on, and if it wasn’t for a Frankie Beller intercept, Austin might have scored again. Instead, Bri McDowell scored at 78 minutes for some breathing room. A high tackle on Emily Blease added a penalty try for the 29-10 win.
Sloppy conditions on Sunday meant handling suffered early on, but NOVA adapted and got moving against Houston Athletic (HARC).
“HARC were quite a spirited side. They absorbed a heavy loss to Raleigh on Saturday but you’d never know it the way they came out in warm-ups. … We knew we would need to focus,” Walker prefaced day two. “That was one thing from day one to day two that we wanted to emphasize: Finding a bit more success early.”
Kayla Cook scored three tries in the first 15 minutes, and Hoeck, Saundra Johnson and Avery Rain also added tries. Four conversions from Primo gave NOVA a 38-0 halftime lead. The muddy conditions affected attacking continuity in the second half, but NOVA managed a seventh try from Nicole Benedetti at minute 47. HARC continued to push and added two tries for the 43-10 final.
“The takeaway for me mirrors up with the deciding factors for us: We showed good depth and positional flexibility this weekend,” Walker summarized. “Weather around NOVA has been terrible this spring. We didn’t get to practice at all the week before this event, and in the two weeks before that, we were only able to complete two of the four scheduled practices.
“We couldn’t do much in the way of set plays so we had to play basic rugby and experiment a bit with combinations. The work we did this past fall – building depth and basic skills across our A and B sides – is what gave us a chance to compete this weekend.”
NOVA and Raleigh will play their final Gold Cup games April 7-8 in Michigan against Detroit and Chicago. Then attention returns to the MAC itself, as the duo will face each other in the league semifinals and vie for a berth to the final against Philadelphia.
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