The University of Pittsburgh played its first season in the hybrid Allegheny conference, and it was a good fit for a program that has transitioned from its player-led set-up to one with a dedicated head coach. Penn State and Pittsburgh Forge alumna Olivia Redshaw (formerly Lindsey) is in her first fall with the DI team, which is now heading to the USA Rugby DI Fall College Championship quarterfinals after Saturday’s play-in win.
RELATED: Fall Championship Brackets (use tabs at bottom of spreadsheet to move between competitions)
After five years with Penn State, Redshaw has been playing with DII Pittsburgh Forge since 2014. But then an ACL injury last November brought her playing career into question, and those longer-term aspirations to move into coaching morphed into more immediate plans. Redshaw connected with Pittsburgh, which had spent last season without a coach.
“I met with the captains just to make sure we were on the same page in terms of what they wanted to get out of the season, and they were definitely hungry for leadership,” Redshaw said of pre-season conversations with the team. “One of the big things of any player-run team is having practice plans taken off their plate, so the leadership can focus more on their role as captains and leaders with the team, as opposed to being in charge. Two months into the season, they still have such an enthusiasm for learning, which I think has really helped create the success we’ve had. They ask great questions and are so receptive to feedback. As a first-time coach, it’s extremely welcoming and really easy on me, because I didn’t have to do too much in terms of cultivating that enthusiasm. They already had it.”
Although player-run teams are stressful for the student-athletes, that experience does wield exceptional leaders. Captains Gigi Stephens and Sarah Scott are the backbone of the squad and key liaisons for Redshaw. Unfortunately Stephens suffered an injury in the second half of the season but has remained crucial to the off- and near-field activities.
“Sarah has really stepped up and is playing very well and taking charge from the forwards. And we have great leadership from our veteran flyhalf Kendall [Scholl], same with our fullback, Brittany [Royes] and one of our front rows, Erin Cavanaugh,” Redshaw reviewed the squad. “We do have such a great group of incoming rookies, and it’s a good mix of players with high school experience and others who are brand new. I’m excited moving forward to watch the growth of two freshmen flankers: Harmony Beppler and Natalie Jackson.”
The Allegheny is a DI/DII hybrid but there is parity between the two divisions, allowing for a steady level of competition. After wins against DII West Virginia and DI Kent State, Pittsburgh dropped a three-point match to DII Youngstown State. The team then ended the regular season with wins against IUP and Ohio State.
“You can’t really grow without having those challenges. Like everyone says: You learn more from losing,” Redshaw said of the Youngstown State loss. “They came out and played hard, and challenged us in ways that we hadn’t faced before. They helped ID some gaps, specifically at the point of contact and in our set pieces, and showed us things we needed to work on.
“Something I tried to reinforce with the team was: Go out there and play your game throughout the season, and we’ll make small, manageable goals and build on that,” the coach added. “If we get better each time, then we’ll be in a good place.”
It came down to the final week of the regular season, but Pittsburgh did top the standings for a post-season berth to the fall quarterfinal play-ins. The Big 10’s Michigan State traveled to Pennsylvania for an opportunity to continue into regional post-season.
“They knew they were going to be competitive, especially coming out of the Big 10, which has always been a competitive group,” Redshaw said of the team’s pre-game mentality. “Michigan State had very strong runners on offense, which is something we were expecting. They challenged us at the point of contact, and we were trying to stop them from getting that go-forward and worked hard to keep them from gaining that momentum.”
The teams exchanged tries early on and Pittsburgh took a 15-5 lead into halftime. The team discussed adjustments for the second half and Redshaw described a “night and day” performance in the final 40. The offense clicked and Pittsburgh ran away with a 55-19 win.
“They’re starting to see their potential,” Redshaw said. “Going into the second half, they played with a new confidence that I haven’t seen them play with so far. It was that moment where they knew they could do this. I met with some of the players [Sunday] and they’re obviously excited and planning for next weekend, but I don’t think this was something that – not that they didn’t believe they could accomplish this, but I don’t think they necessarily planned for it. I’m hoping they can take that confidence from the second half and realize that they have the ability to play and compete at this level and move forward.”
Redshaw said that the team isn’t operating with a “nothing to lose” mentality just because it’s exceeding its expectations. There is the sense that, regardless of the outcome of the next match, that this fall has been a success, and the team has the potential to really thrive together. The next test arrives in the form of UCONN, the Northeast champion, which received an automatic berth to the DI fall quarterfinals. Although more unknowns lie ahead, Redshaw, who has five years’ worth of Penn State playoffs in her pedigree, can offer some advice.
“The biggest lesson I’ve always taken away from my time at Penn State, and looking back and reflecting on the successes at the collegiate level and the lessons learned from all the great coaches that I’ve had, really is: It’s not about winning or losing,” Redshaw said. “Regardless of what happens at the end of the game, that’s not the measure of success. It’s important to continue to grow. As we’ve played our games, that’s something that I’ve been encouraging them to remember, that it’s more important to come together as a team and be better in the 80th minute than they were in the first minute. If you can continually say that, regardless of the score at the end of the game, then that’s success.”
Pittsburgh will UCONN on Saturday, Nov. 23 at Vassar College (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.), and on the other side of the eastern portion of the bracket, Davenport will face Navy. Sunday is the semifinals, the 2-0 team will advance to the DI fall final on Dec. 8 in Matthews, N.C.
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