Photo: Rugby Europe
The Girls’ High School All-Americans (GHSAAs), Powered by Atavus, finished eighth at the European 7s Championship, dropping games to Portugal, Ireland and Netherlands on day two. Overall, the USA finished 2-4 in France.
RELATED: USA 2-1 on Day One • Meet the GHSAAs in France • Scores: Sept. 15-17, 2017
PORTUGAL 7-0 USA
Day two began with a disappointing outcome, as Portugal defeated the GHSAAs 7-0 in the Cup quarterfinals. Wet and slippery conditions produced handling issues and affected the flow of play generally, but penalties also really hurt the USA.
The Americans got their best scoring opportunity on the opening drive, where back-to-back penalties from Portugal nullified the dropped balls. With one more pass to go, the ball was knocked on at the five meter for a turnover. This scenario would repeat itself.
Scrumhalf Kat Stowers did well to pressure the subsequent scrum, tackling her opposite into the try zone for a five-meter scrum, but a dropped ball and penalty killed the opportunity for points. Aside from handling errors, the Americans never got into the offloading game that helped build momentum on day one and couldn’t hold onto the ball after a few phases.
Portugal wasn’t much more successful on offense, and it was lucky that several poorly executed kicks in open play weren’t returned for big gains. Portugal’s defense did well though, wasn’t susceptible to the fend and covered the USA’s speed out wide just fine.
As the half wore down, the USA worked to Portugal’s 22 meter. Emily Henrich returned a Portugal kick, pulling defenders with her before getting the offload off and setting into motion a few good phases. But then a penalty handed over possession, and Portugal slipped past the defense for a long-range, centered try that ended up being the difference in the match, 7-0.
The second half was more of the same. Portugal’s kickoff didn’t go 10 meters and then Kiarah Mosley drew a penalty on the sideline, but a knock-on handed Portugal the scrum. Neither team was able to capitalize on its opponent’s errors or strengths, 7-0 the final.
IRELAND 15-7 USA
The USA’s opening possession ended in a knock-on, and although the Ireland scrum was messy, Ireland recovered and weaved through a broken defense the try, 5-0.
Ireland kept its own restart and soon slipped a tackle for a breakaway from midfield. Captain Cassidy Bargell chased it down, but the only other player in support came from Ireland, and the offload produced the game’s second try, 10-0.
The second-half kickoff looked promising, as Ireland let the ball hit the ground and roll deep into its end. The return, however, ended the try zone. Fortunately for the USA, the ballcarrier just nicked the touchline on the breakaway, and the USA got the lineout. After a solid set piece and penalty, Bargell got a nice break, but support was slow and Ireland poached the ball and returned for a try, 15-0.
Fatigue was certainly showing on the team, which only worked in two reserves – Lolo Makaafi and Delaney Rakuita – during the second half. Both Charity Tenney and Falelua Stowers had not taken the field on day two.
With approximately a minute and a half in the match, Henrich stepped multiple defenders at midfield for an individual try. Stowers made a quick conversion, 15-7, and restarted play. The final minute of the match saw the GHSAAs play with vigor, and several penalties allowed the USA to build phases even though the game was lost. The surge didn’t affect the scoreboard, however, and the Americans moved to the 7th place match against the Netherlands.
NETHERLANDS 26-12 USA
The match began well, as the whole team got their hands on the ball to produce the first try approximately a minute into the match. Julia Riekena sucked in the defense before finding Falelua Stowers, who weaved through the opposition for a long break. The support was quick and the ball recycled to Bargell on the sideline for the corner try, 5-0.
Slow support to the tackle saw the GHSAAs commit a not-releasing penalty, which the Netherlands kicked to touch for the lineout. The flyhalf peeled around the set piece, spied some space, and split the defense for the centered try, 7-5.
The Netherlands built their lead in the second half, as a messy offload turned into a turnover and long-range centered try, 14-5. Shortly afterward, the USA was trying to run out of its end and a dropped pass on the wing saw another Netherlands pickup and return try, 19-5. Another errant pass into touch awarded Netherlands an attacking lineout in good position. A couple of crashes in the middle committed two USA defenders each, and the third attempt into the line made it through for the centered try, 26-5.
The Americans’ campaign in France did end with a try, as Henrich – who has to be MVP on the weekend for her work on both sides of the ball – broke through the midfield defense and shook several tacklers before offloading to Riekena. The prop passed to Bargell for the Stowers-converted try.
GHSAAs
Cassidy Bargell – cpt
McKenzie Borchers
Alex DiMarcoEmily Henrich
Lolo Makaafi
Kiarah Mosley
Delaney Rakuita
Julia Riekena
Falelua Stowers
Kat Stowers – vc
Charity Tenney
Bri Vasquez
HighSchoolAllAmericans #European7s Atavus