0
0
Divine Savior Holy Angels (DSHA) went 2-1 and finished 3rd at the Girls’ High School 15s National Championship – a success by many measures. But the Milwaukee, Wis., team faced its share of obstacles at the Salt Lake City event, and it was superb leadership that guided the squad through the two-day competition. Chief among those standouts was senior flyhalf Mia Minessale, the Next Phase Rugby High School Player of the Month for May 2026.
RELATED: March Recipient • April Recipient
https://nextphaserugby.com
Minessale knew of the DSHA rugby reputation ahead of high school, but ultimately it was the desire to try a new sport and make some friends that drove her to the team in fall 2022. While she did love the sport upon first sample, Minessale kept experimenting and played softball during her freshman spring, before committing to rugby full time sophomore year onward.
“It’s so cool – the culture and the family that DSHA has created, but also the community you experience within Wisconsin and nationals even,” Minessale said of rugby’s hook. “We have made friends with a bunch of different teams at nationals, like Summit, even though they are our rivals a little bit. And Eagle, too, who we lost to at nationals this year. … You could go anywhere wearing a rugby t-shirt and be like, ‘I play, do you play!?'”
That sense of belonging is crucial when joining a high-performing program. There are expectations and pressures, and it’s incumbent upon the upper classes to build a welcoming environment. Fortunately, DSHA has the numbers to support A and B sides that train together. Newcomers have the space to develop while eying the shape of a more veteran game.
https://navysports.evenue.net/events/GR-CAMP
“The upper classes did an amazing mentoring job, and I hope I’ve become that to the underclass now,” said Minessale, who called out important bonding moments during car pools as well as on-field instruction. They built up my confidence over time, and that made it less intimidating.
“I had a girl two years ahead of me, Evie Coffou,” she added. “She played flyhalf like me and was definitely a big mentor. I always aimed to be like her – I wanted to pass like her, move the ball like her. I’d always try to line up behind her for drills and stuff. We’d practice punting together and she inspired me to work harder, and she was also so extremely nice and supportive.”
Joe Kloiber, who moved from an assistant role into the head coaching role this season after long-time coach John “Chin” Klein retired, was also massive in Minessale’s build.
“He’s the one that believed in me,” she said. “My sophomore year he said, ‘Mia, I see you as a flyhalf and asked Chin to put you in this position. I know you might not see it yourself yet, but I can see you working hard and becoming a really good flyhalf.’ He made me want to work better and work harder and get better at this position. So that was a big motivator this whole season and at nationals. This is his first year and he’s done so much and put so much heart into this team that I wanted to make this special for him and our senior class.”
Minessale at 2024 nationals / Photo: Jackie Finlan
Minessale carried those underclassmen experiences into her role as one of three senior captains this year. She served alongside Paula Goetz and Maddie Savoie, as the Dashers won the Wisconsin state 15s championship in the fall. In addition to the three captains, another seven seniors were named to the all-state team: Ana Byrne, Clare Foy, Maria Hilbert, Molly McGown, Zion Lavoe, Mary Rebholz and Marge Richburg.
“They’re both amazing and I couldn’t ask for better captains,” she praised her counterparts. “They are so sweet, and they’re driving the dedication on this team. They make me want to put more effort into everything. They’re so ambitious in everything they do and they have two of the hardest work ethics.
“I bring a lot of communication but also constructive criticism,” Minessale said of the leadership dynamic. “I let it be known the expectations and what we want to see out of these girls. That has to come with high support and making sure girls are comfortable and enjoying the sport and making friends. But then it’s also, ‘You did this well, but you can fix your line, or make sure you’re steeper.’ It’s some nitpicky things but also about building better skills.”
The DSHA back line was primarily senior driven, but one sophomore, Maeve Moloney, distinguished herself. Minessale saw herself in the budding flyhalf.
“She moved around a bit and played flyhalf at one point,” Minessale said. “I did a lot of passing with her and told her, ‘You’re the flyhalf. You have to have your head up and keep communicating. Always be talking with your scrumhalf and players around you. Be a leader on and off the field.’ It was just instilling that thought process of what it means to be a flyhalf and building up her confidence.”
Minessale celebrating a try / Photo: Jackie Finlan
DSHA moved into its spring half of the school year, fielding both a 7s team for the in-state WISCO7s competition (which Fox Cities won last Saturday) and a 15s team. In April, the Dashers won the annual Midwest 15s Championship in Elkhart, Ind., and then readied for the big trip to Salt Lake City in mid-May. The previous two national tournaments had been in Cottage Grove, Wis. – an hour’s drive from Milwaukee – and took a traditional quarterfinal/semifinal/final bracket format across Saturday-Sunday. In 2026, single schools were split into two pools of three teams for two games on Friday and then finals Saturday.
DSHA, which has been competing at nationals since its inception in 2000, had finished 3rd in the nation in 2025, and was placed in a pool with two-time (now three-time) reigning national champion Eagle High School out of Idaho and Summit High School out of Colorado.
“When we heard about the schedule we were upset about it for sure,” Minessale said of starting the tournament against Eagle. “We knew Eagle was the team to beat and thought we could have been that championship game. So seeing that we ended up playing them in the first match, that was a little disappointing. But also having Summit, who we knew has always been very good in our pool and having to playing them an hour later after Eagle – it was disappointing.
“But it also gave us drive,” she continued. “It was, ‘This is how the bracket was made, so let’s go out and prove them wrong. Let’s show them what we can really do. We’re good enough that we can persevere through adversity.'”
View this post on Instagram
DSHA led Eagle for the majority of the match, and it was a last-minute score that pushed the Mustangs to a 13-10 win. The pool structure, however, meant that DSHA wasn’t necessarily out of the championship. The team just needed Summit to beat Eagle in pool play, and then standings would name the finalist against the other pool’s victor.
“It was our first or second try against Eagle,” Minessale picked out standout moments from nationals. “We had multiple phases, we were hitting our forwards, and then we got the ball got out to whoever was on the wing. Then it was just legs to the try zone. It was just a smooth level of play and I remember how satisfying that was. It gave us a solid lead, and I remember thinking, ‘O.K., we truly do deserve to be here. We are up and winning against a national championship team.”
Eagle’s game against DSHA ended up being the eventual national champion’s team closest match all weekend.
“We were down for maybe the next 15-30 minutes [after the game],” Minessale said of the aftermath. “But then me, Paula and Maddie all came together. ‘O.K., we’ve got to snap out of this,’ and brought the team together. ‘We’re not out of this. Summit is a very good team and has the possibility of beating Eagle, so we need to beat Summit next. Don’t let this loss slump us. Use it as motivation.'”
DSHA rallied for a 22-12 win against Summit in the Tigers’ first match of the tournament. To end day one, Eagle beat Summit 24-17, sending the Mustangs to the final, DSHA to the 3rd place match, and Summit to the 5th place game on Saturday. The Dashers lined up against Idaho’s Rocky Mountain for the teams’ final game at nationals, and DSHA put down a comprehensive 61-12 statement win.
“It was important because that was one of the last big games for a lot of us seniors,” Minessale said. “And it was just a fun game to play. It was, ‘Go out, show what we can do, and just enjoy your time playing in Utah.’
DSHA v Rocky Mountain / Photo: Jackie Finlan
“But it was also important for our underclassmen,” she added. “We brought a roster of 25 so 10-or-so girls didn’t start or play that much, so that game allowed us to get them in and get that experience. Our juniors and our B side players have excelled so much that we’ve been able to have that ‘next one up’ step in and not have that level of play come down. I have a lot of optimism for the next two years.”
Minessale capped her time with DSHA with a try, something that natural distributor doesn’t typically get to celebrate.
“Our tryline defense was so good all weekend,” the captain said of more memories. “Our penalties weren’t the best, to be honest, and we have multiple offsides. But our ability to come back and not let them score and hold them up or push them back from the try line – I was so proud of us.”
There is still Lakefront 7s in terms of a final hurrah for the DSHA seniors, and then Minessale will head to nearby Marquette University to study biomedical engineering in the fall. She will reunite with several DSHA alums if she picks up with the club rugby program, and then of course there are alumnae games that keep grads connected to the program.
“Thanks go to Joe, for one, for an amazing season,” Minessale did her final callouts. “He’s put his heart and dedication into this whole team, and it’s really shown in the improvement of our underclassmen and the success that our A side has had. And just for the belief in me and what I’ve been able to do throughout my four years here, as well as nominating me for this [Player of the Month], which is truly an honor.
“And thanks to my senior class, because we’ve just been through all this together,” she closed. “The improvement we’ve made since freshman year, and how smoothly the chemistry has come together out on the pitch — nothing really compares to it. It’s just been so fun to play with them.”