CRAA Names its 15s Champs

The College Rugby Association of America (CRAA) celebrated the end of its women’s 15s season with a full day of finals on April 19. Stanford’s Steuber Rugby Stadium hosted the DIA, DI and DII championships, all of which live-streamed on CRAA’s YouTube channel. [lead photo: Freda Tafuna / Jackie Finlan]

Related: Championship preview

The day began with the Division II final between West Coast conference champion Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Pacific Desert conference champion Univ. California Irvine. The Mustangs entered the game as the 2024 titleholder, but the game was also special because it marked the team’s final runout as a DII program. Next year, it’s Division I. The Anteaters meanwhile were featuring in their first 15s final and are looking to build that championship experience and exposure.

 

Cal Poly SLO ran out to a 45-0 halftime lead. Championship MVP and outside center Liz Goethals scored three tries, often taking a flat pass at pace, busting through the first line of defense and then weaving around the chasing defense. Fullback Azalea Kubic also made multiple trips to the try zone, showcasing great speed in the open field and good positioning for the finishing pass. No. 8 Natali Espindola was very visible around the pitch – not only while picking off the back of the scrum and carrying hard, but also off the tee. The loose forward kicked six conversions in addition to dotting down a try.

Madi Ferrari and Lou Triller also scored tries in the 64-7 win. UCI snapped the shutout at the 65-minute mark, when fullback Emma Bernadin scored and Izzy Ortiz converted. No. 4 Karly Kovaleff and flyhalf Alecia Foster were highlights for the Anteaters.

 

 

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The stands then filled in for the DIA national championship. Even though Life and Lindenwood are located in Georgia and Missouri, respectively, they both feature a bunch of Californians. Overall, it is a boisterous crowd, as one might expect from two top programs with history. In 2025, the teams traded regular-season wins, and Saturday’s trophy match embraced the drama with try-trading action.

Life, the 2024 national champion, scored five minutes into the match. Lindenwood had missed a few opportunities to clear, and the Running Eagles made good on the time in attacking territory. Wing Harlie Kallichuk dotted down the try in the corner, 5-0. All of Life’s scores were close to the sideline, setting up difficult conversions.

 

Conversely, Lindenwood was able to center two of three tries, and that made a difference on the scoreboard. As the 13-minute mark approached, the Lions found themselves on the Life try line, and the forwards went to work. The Life defense was resolute, until 2024 MA Sorensen Award winner Freda Tafuna took a more evasive angle to the line. The No. 8 scored the try and kicked the conversion, 7-5 to Lindenwood.

Tafuna is also a finalist for the 2025 Sorensen Award, along with Lindenwood center Amy Brice, Life scrumhalf Alle English and Life center Angie Mason. All were difference-makers in the final, and the season, but Tafuna, a capped USA 15s Eagle, is just unstoppable.

 

The 7-5 scoreline held until halftime, and once back on the pitch, it took Life approximately four minutes to score against. Lindenwood racked up some penalties and then soft hands inside the 22 moved to Kallichuk once again: 10-7.

Minutes later, Lindenwood was pinged for a high tackle, but the Lions played unfazed. In fact, the St. Charles team nearly scored twice, if it weren’t for Mason and Lissa Salisbury stealing possession. English also put a box kick to good use and reliably relieved pressure. They eluded Brice and fullback Madison Jersey – the two most dangerous backs who can fracture a defense.

 

Lindenwood was able to keep Life off the board while it was playing down, and that’s a win. Once back to full strength, earned a penalty in the breakdown and then set up a scrum in attacking territory. Ball moved out to the backs and then trickled out the back of the ruck. Tafuna scooped it up and powered her way through everyone. The championship MVP then kicked the extras for the 14-10 lead.

Life responded immediately. A turnover in the breakdown moved from Emerson Callegari to Libby Benitez, who fed Azhinaye Barner into the corner: try. The Running Eagles held a 15-14 lead with 18 minutes to play.

 

With approximately 10 minutes, Lindenwood engineered a fourth and final lead change. From the 22 meter, the Lions quickly moved the ball wide and reserve wing Nevaeh Elliott sprinted into the corner for the score: 19-15. Life used the remaining time well and built to Lindenwood’s 22. There was opportunity, until Tafuna poached possession and a big Brice breakaway smothered hope.

When the whistle sounded, Lindenwood had its sixth DIA national championship, a proper sendoff as the Lions head to NIRA – the competition for NCAA varsity programs – in the fall. While Life and Lindenwood won’t be playing each other in the same league, one suspects that they’ll set up friendlies, as they’ve been each other’s best competition. And as for the individuals, these programs produce national team players, so expect to see them playing at higher levels.

 

 

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While the DIA final featured the best rugby of the day, the biggest and most invested crowd showed up for the DI championship. Stanford and Cal ran onto the Steuber Rugby Stadium pitch for a 7 p.m. kickoff, and the venue became standing room only.

The teams had met just once in 2025 – a 36-19 decision to the Cardinal – but so much had happened since then. Both teams traveled south to Tempe, Ariz., for regionals, and both went 2-0 against Pacific Desert and Pacific Mountain North teams. They had proved they were the two best teams, and now a classic rivalry awaited to answer one more question.

Stanford scored two tries in the opening eight minutes. Quick ball movement from scrumhalf Emma Cruz and flyhalf Laura Bocek set up wing Journey Washingtonhigh for the opener. Bocek, who had the strongest strike on the entire championship day, slotted the conversion just off the sideline.

 

 

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Minutes later, fullback Cara Feit inserted into the line off a lineout and gained big meters up the middle. In striking distance, flanker Sydney Davis picked from the ruck and dove over for the score. Bocek kicked a second conversion for the 14-0 lead.

Cal calmed itself and was rewarded with a Mariah Overby score. The center was the most dangerous attack weapon and weaved through would-be tacklers for a long try. Davis rushed conversion kicker Malina Goldstein and very nearly blocked the kick. That aggression funneled into the subsequent series and resulted in a quick Stanford try.

 

Cal knocked on the restart, setting up a Stanford scrum in good position. No. 8 Kirsten Lees picked off the back and got the defense hustling in retreat. After a few forward phases at the line, prop Vanessa Ohuoha scored the Cardinal’s third try. Bocek converted, 21-5. A big penalty kick from Bocek followed by a solid lineout set up Washingtonhigh’s second try, and then Cal closed the half with its second score. After a series of penalties, prop Lupita Gonzalez breached the try line defense for the score: 26-10 into the break.

Minutes into the second half, Cal closed to 26-15. Flanker Faith Adidjaja recovered a dropped pass in Stanford’s 22 and ball moved through the hands to find scrumhalf Lorie Martinez on the edge.

 

The home side then responded with five-straight tries – two from championship MVP Lees, who is only a sophomore, and two from super-fast impact sub Chisa Ogaki, who also kicked three conversions. Madisyn Cunningham was also big off the bench, with hard carries carving up the defense. The prop was rewarded for the work and scored the team’s final try of the day: 57-15.

The game was won at this point but Cal kept plugging away and added two tries to its tally: 57-25 the final. As soon as the whistle sounded, the fans flew onto the pitch for celebrations. It was a tough go for Cal, but the match marked the first time the Bears have ever featured in a 15s final. Stanford has a long history in the championship space, and the 2025 trophy marks the program’s sixth-ever national title.

CRAA has one more iteration for the women before the 2024-25 season ends. On May 3-4, the organization will hold its 7s championships in Indianapolis, Ind., and all of the 15s finalists save UC Irvine will feature in that tournament.