Photo: Amy Kish
The following is the TRB-produced portion of the weekly USA Rugby club recaps; click here to read the article in its entirety.
MIDWEST CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Chicago Lions joined Division I this fall and just sealed an undefeated fall with a Midwest championship. The Lions faced Metropolis – a squad that served the Lions their only non-win, a 12-12 tie, in the regular season – and battled to a 29-24 victory. The Lions have secured the Competitive Region’s top seed to the national quarterfinals in the spring, and Metropolis has proved that they, too, will be a valuable addition to the 2020 post-season.
“They’re a very skilled team, and since we started our women’s team 15 months ago, they’re probably the strongest opponent that we’ve come up against. Well coached by Sue Whitwell and Martha Daines,” Chicago Lions Director of Rugby Dave Clancy said. “It was very tight going into halftime, lot of over-and-backward, exciting rugby.”
Lions wing Katherine Lohaus and flyhalf Kelley Hirt teamed up for a 7-point lead after eight minutes, but then a yellow card at the 17th minute opened up the opportunity for back-to-back Valkyries tries: 14-7 to the Minnesotans. The Lions responded immediately, as fullback Rachel Grecky scored and then sustained pressured produced a penalty try that Jill Stariha would have otherwise dotted down. The Lions went into the break up 19-14.
Photo: Amy Kish
“In the second half we had the wind at our back, and our ability of our players to kick to space and to play into their red zone was a key factor. And we just made it difficult for them to play from deep,” said Clancy, who also praised the team’s defensive resilience. “We took our opportunities, and when we had possession in their 22 came away with points, and ultimately that was decided the game.”
The teams were deadlocked during the first 15 minutes of the second half, and then Valkyries scrumhalf Dalena Khothsombath crossed for five: 19-all. Clancy praised the work of Lions scrumhalf Cara Thayer, who took over the decision-making role after a late=season injury to the regular starter, and kept the game moving in spite of a fast defense. Hooker Benny Hershik was also crucial in keeping the pace of the defense high and put in a standout performance in the set pieces.
The Lions were rewarded through Lions wing Devon Gold and Lohaus followed with tries to push the Lions’ lead out to 10, and provide the cushion the squad needed to hold onto the win. Metropolis added one more score in the final five minutes, but the Lions took home the 29-24 victory and Midwest DI Club Championship.
The Midwest DII Club Championship brought two undefeated teams together – the West’s Palmer College and East’s Cincinnati Kelts – and they fought to a single-digit decision. When the final whistle sounded, the Dragons celebrated a 22-15 win, its first Midwest trophy and berth to DII nationals.
“We’ve put in the work throughout the season and we have this ability to encourage each other and build each other up prior to games that I 100% attribute to our entire 80 minutes,” Palmer College captain Leilani Zinsli reflected on the tight game. “We knew our only option was to come out of the gates hard.”
Palmer wing Skyler Zawko scored seven minutes into the match, and flyhalf Claire Tomashek made it 7-0. The Kelts got on the board minutes later with a penalty kick, and the Dragons responded with tries from outside center Wren Felton and prop Stephanie Snoeberger. Tomashek added a conversion and penalty after the break for a 22-3 lead.
The Kelts started chipping away, dotting down in the 50th and 67th minutes, and with 13 minutes to play, Cincinnati only trailed by seven points. But Palmer rallied around its defense and held on for the 22-15 win. There’s plenty of time to prepare for the national quarterfinals in May, and Palmer College is ready for the build.
“With regard to ‘leading” our team in its first national playoffs, I know it’s going to be painless and smooth,” Zinsli looked ahead. “We have so many natural leaders on our team that I never feel like I have to do it alone.”
ATLANTIC NORTH
The Empire GU is one weekend away from naming its champion, and the final will seed the teams into the Atlantic North semifinals in the spring. The title winner will play New England runner-up Worcester in the Competitive Region crossovers, and the Empire runner-up will play Providence.
Top-ranked Monmouth hosted Danbury and banked a convincing 52-0 semifinal victory Saturday. Flyhalf Leah Berry lit up the scoreboard approximately 10 minutes in with a try, and then scrumhalf Rebecca Musumeci, No. 8 Diana Valencia, wing Crystal Cooke (3), flanker Stephanie Desch and reserve Ashley Allen followed with tries. Hooker Alexandrea Rumsey added six conversions in the shutout.
Second-seeded Brooklyn hosted Uticuse on the other side the bracket, and fell behind 5-0 when Shannon Finnegan scored the first of two tries after 10 minutes. Brooklyn mobilized, tied it up by the 15-minute mark, and then took off. By game’s end, inside center Jane Wade led all point-scorers with 16 points on two tries and three conversions. Prop Juliet Wade scored a brace of tries, and No. 8 Lily Wissinger, outside center Laila Blumenthal-Rothchild and wing Margaret Ewen added a try apiece in the 46-10 victory.
Monmouth and Brooklyn will now decide the Empire title and it’s a rematch of the teams’ final regular-season game on Nov. 2. Crystal Cooke scored a game-winning try in the 80th minute to award the 22-21 win to Monmouth. A showdown awaits.