Amelia Wheaton vs. Mary Washington / Photos: Mike Harrington
Last year, the Capital conference embraced a hybrid format, where small schools competed in the Division II regular season and then realigned with NSCRO for the post-season. In fall 2017, however, the Capital’s small schools have returned to their DII status, and it’s made an impact already. Former NSCRO team William & Mary defeated Mary Washington – a perennial title candidate in the DII Capital conference – 50-5 on Saturday.
RELATED: Capital Contests 5 Season-Openers • Women’s Rugby Scores: Sept. 22-24 • Fall DII College Conferences Explained
The win becomes even more poignant when considering last year’s result: Mary Washington defeated William & Mary 74-5. Coach Nicole Beckwith, who joined the team in spring 2017, credited fellow coach Collin Crookenden for introducing the 2-4-2 attacking system, which places forwards into channels rather than having the pack chase the ball across the pitch. Crookenden is in his second year with the women’s team, which fortunately returned a good amount of players. In fact, veterans comprised Saturday’s starting lineup.
“Mary Washington scored first, but after that initial drive, they made a few adjustments to the rucking and defense, and pretty dominated after that,” Beckwith said. “They played well as a team, and their running and passing became more confident and faster as the game went on.”
Forwards captain Carey Meyers was a huge presence on the pitch, and she helped fortify the rucking game so faster, more fluid ball could come out of the breakdowns. Her captain counterpart, Alyssa Willis, led the backs’ attack. The fullback, whom Beckwith described as a great leader with a good head on her shoulders, was one of eight try-scorers. Elsa Chinburg, Gloria Cho, Colleen Grady, Emily Lawson, LeeAnn Rowley, Alyssa Sze and Amelia Wheaton also scored tries.
Elsa Chinburg / Photo: Mike Harrington
“They were telling me that the score is usually reversed [against Mary Washington], so they were excited,” Beckwith said of the team’s post-game reaction. “But they knew what was happening as it was happening. … Overall, they’re really good students of the game, focused and eager to learn more.”
William & Mary will continue league play against Old Dominion, which won another nail-biter last weekend. ODU won its league opener 27-20 over Longwood and then defeated Virginia Commonwealth 27-24 on Saturday. Towson, too, took a single-digit victory over Maryland, 29-22.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, Salisbury defeated Johns Hopkins 73-5; Catholic shut out Georgetown 39-0; and American earned a 28-0 forfeit win from George Mason.
Below is the Week 3 (Sept. 30) schedule:
North
UMBC (1-0) vs. Maryland (0-2)
Johns Hopkins (0-2) vs. Towson (1-0)
Central
American (1-1) vs. Georgetown (0-1)
George Washington (1-0) vs. George Mason (0-1)
South
William & Mary (1-0) vs. Old Dominion (2-0)
Longwood (0-1) vs. VA Commonwealth (0-2)
Capital #WilliamMary