Division II accounts for the majority of senior women’s rugby clubs in the U.S., and thus the fall updates are more robust than the Division I and Division III round-ups. Last weekend saw DII teams from the Midwest, Capital, Eastern Pennsylvania, Empire, New England all log regular-season games, but there are several more regions that were idle last weekend and/or about to activate. [Lead photo: Badger Kings Media @badgerkings10]
RELATED: Last Weekend’s DI Senior Club Review
The following update covers regular-season 15s games only, but future recaps will also include meaningful friendlies. In alphabetical order …
CAPITAL (D.C./MD/VA) kicked off its 15s season last weekend and put all four teams in motion. 2022-23 national championship runner-up Severn River (1-0) blanked Norfolk (0-1) 51-0, and got leading performances from Caroline Heimerl (Forward of the Match), Charlee Bryan (Back of the Match) and overall MVP Kelsey Bezila. • James River (1-0) also posted a shutout, 57-0, against DII NOVA. Alyssa Willis led with four tries, while Ruthanne Rowane contributed six conversions.
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The four-team EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA (EPRU) held its first regular-season match, with reigning champ Phoenixville (1-0) beating Northeast Philadelphia (0-1) 29-22. Chelsea Brown scored two tries for White Horse and was named offensive MVP, and defensive Player of the Match Leah Okunoye added a try as well. Northeast Philly earned two bonus points in the loss.
In nearby EMPIRE (NJ/NY/CT), reigning champion New Haven (2-0) eked out an 8-5 win against New York (0-1), and did so with only a couple subs. Elena Orlando accounted for the Connecticut team’s try, and Sarah Vahos’ penalty kick was the difference-maker on the scoreboard. Vahos was named backs MVP, and Sophia Agostinelli the forwards MVP. • Danbury (1-0) got is first win of the season with a 56-19 win against Morris (0-2). The Madhatters got tries from Allysa O’Neill, Angela Somley, Brianna Somersall, Paige Deitch, Sophie Hale and Makinzie Youngblood. O’Neill handled the conversions and penalties as well.
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The MIDWEST contains an Eastern Conference and a Western Conference, and each conference includes two leagues apiece. Each league has four teams = 16 DII teams in the Midwest region. • In the Eastern’s Upstate New York league, South Buffalo improved to 2-0 after a 48-12 win against Uticuse (1-1). • Rochester (1-1) edged North Buffalo (0-2) with a 41-38 win, and got multi-try performances out of Soraia Parr and Rebecca Stoloski. Anna Cummings handled the extras. The Ninjas got 23 points out of Christina Killourhy (3T, 4C) and earned two bonus points in the close loss.
In the Eastern’s Greater Ohio league, Dayton (0-1) was unable to travel to Cleveland (0-1) and the possibility of rescheduling is being investigated. • Meanwhile, Fort Wayne (2-0) and Akron (1-1) battled to a 28-26 decision, in favor of the Indiana team. Tori Gettys scored three tries for Fort Wayne and Brie Rahrig dotted down the fourth. Crucially, Katrina Bard knocked over all four conversions. Akron also scored four tries (Gabrielle Appiah, Carmen Cincotta, Emily Ramsey, Brooke Yingling) and Leah Carsten went 3/4 off the tee. Eager for the rematch, which occurs Sept. 30.
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In the Western Conference’s CARFU (Chicago Area) league, Palmer College is the first 2-0 after a 54-0 win against County Will (1-1). Inside center Taylor Heyrman went 7/8 on conversions and added a try, too, for 19 points on the day. Fullback Katie Baier (4) and flanker Asia Sockrider (2) had multi-try days. • Grand Rapids (1-1) beat the Chicago Sirens (0-2) 64-7. Kenzie Cain and Megan Bird were named Players of the Match.
And finally, in the Western’s Northern league, Oconomowoc (1-1) rebounded from a tough opening weekend to beat the Minneapolis Menagerie (0-2) 25-12. • Twin Cities (1-0) and Wisconsin (1-0) were idle last weekend.
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NEW ENGLAND (NERFU) doesn’t use the Xplorer CMS as diligently as other women’s competitions do, so game details are the result of social-media scanning. It’s also necessary to keep in-house standings. • Albany is the first team to 2-0 after a 25-10 win against Burlington (1-1), which traveled to the New York state capital with exactly 15 players. Halfback Amy Weils was named Back of the Match and was also Burlington’s choice for MVP. Flanker Nicole Gonyeau earned Forward MVP, and center Veronica Sterbenz took home Blue Collar Player of the Match honors.
Worcester (1-1) and Hartford (1-1) got their first wins of the fall. The Shamrocks beat Charles River (1-1) 36-24, and the Wild Roses took down Portland (0-2) 49-25.
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ON THE HORIZON
There are two teams in Mid-America – St. Louis and KC Jazz – and they have their fall matrix match scheduled for Oct. 28. The rest of their fall schedules include Lindenwood, DIII MARFU teams, and a DII True South crossover.
The Pacific Northwest is also underway but was idle in terms of regular-season matches last weekend. The Premiership (a mix of DI and DII teams) pits DI and DII teams against each other, like last year, and there’s a new team working into the mix: Federal Way.
Rocky Mountain technically kicked off in early September with the Denver Black Ice traveling to the Laramie Cold Front. While the teams did take the pitch, the result is logged as a forfeit win to the Colorado squad. There’s more activity in general starting in October.
The True South, home to national champion Knoxville, will hold its first matrix matches in mid-October. There are four DII teams in the GU and they’ll play each other once before the championship in the spring. That leaves a lot of room on the schedule for friendlies of varying competitiveness.
The new year will bring a concentration of Southwest, SoCal, Florida, Red River and NorCal action.