Scion won its fourth USA Club Rugby 7s National Championship on Sunday, going 6-0 in Madison, Wis., and defeating 2023 champ Chicago Lions in the final. It was a superb weekend for women’s 7s in general, as the glow of Team USA’s bronze medal performance in Paris tinted play across the Wisconsin Rugby Sports Complex. [lead photo c/o USA Rugby]
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Scion was forced to withdraw from 2023 nationals, but Scion director Joanne Liu indicated that there was no sense for redemption. Rather, there was a responsibility to compete at nationals and drive the domestic standard upward, and that’s what the team of vets and collegiate newcomers came to do. In pool play, the team shut out Orlando and East Palo Alto Razorbacks, and then got a preview of the final with the Lions in round three. Scion prevailed 22-5, and it was the test it needed. They, and the rest of the top-two finishers in each of the four pools, advanced to Sunday’s Cup quarterfinals.
In Pool B, San Diego and the Chicago Lions’ second team, “Bonus Track,” topped Pool B. When they faced each other in round one, the Surfers prevailed 12-10. Washington Athletic Club (WAC) handled Pool C comfortably, while Dallas Harlequins finished Saturday 2-1 thanks to single-digit wins against Boston and NOVA. And Chicago North Shore set the standard in Pool D with two shutouts. The Oregon Sharks went 2-1 and picked up a quarterfinal berth for Sunday.
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Scion kicked off Sunday action with a 45-0 quarterfinal win against Lions Bonus Track 45-0. Autumn LoCicero set the tone with three tries. Chicago North Shore followed with a 32-0 win against the Dallas Quins, and did so behind a four-try performance from Cienna Jordan. San Diego took the first lead against the Chicago Lions, as Amy Verdonik scored for the Surfers. But then the Lions rallied with five-straight scores, three of which came from Davenport University’s Ashley Cowdrey. The quarterfinal of the day occurred between the two Pacific Northwest teams — WAC and Oregon Sharks. Obviously there was a ton of familiarity between the squads and the game was definitely heated, but Alyssa Porter’s two tries — and overall pace on both sides of the ball — helped WAC to a 17-7 win.
All four semifinalists played with title-contender energy. North Shore put Scion under the greatest amount of pressure it had faced all weekend, and against Jordan was an uncontainable force with two tries. A fun connection between LoCicero and Telesi Uhatafe played out out wide, and the combined for four tries — three from the Southern Nazarene collegian and one from the USA Falcon. Scion surged for a 29-17 win.
Two quick tries at the end of the match saw WAC and Chicago Lions exchange the lead in their semifinal, but it was a final breakaway score from USA U20 and Chicago product Sereana Vulaono that sealed it for the Lions, 24-19. It was a brilliant, well matched contest, but the Lions did do a better job of moving the ball through different threats. Cowdrey, Meg Loomis and Aly Namosimalua also scored tries, while Porter dotted down all three of WAC’s tries.
That left just one more match to be played — the former champ vs. the reigning champ — and the duo did not disappoint. The Lions took the opening possession deep into Scion territory, getting good ground through deep switches on the outside. The series ended with a knock-on in an attempted offload, and scrumhalf Monique Coffey made good on the turnover. There was a scrum penalty and Coffey tapped quickly through the mark, burning through flat-footed defense for the breakaway try, 5-0.
Two minutes later, LoCicero and Uhatafe teamed up on the edge, and if it weren’t for a Natalie Bjorklund smother tackle, Scion would have gone up two tries right there. There was a penalty in the exchange and one pass to Hann Humphreys saw the Dartmouth player dive over for the try, which Camille Johnson converted, 12-0. Johnson, also a Dartmouth alum, ended the tournament with double-digit conversions as well as four tries.
Just as the half approached, the Lions quieted fears that this was going to be a runaway. Cowdrey — the 2023 championship MVP — took simple hands out wide to beat the defense for a 50-meter score. It had been a long tournament, but the USA U20 captain still had the legs: 12-5 into the break.
The second half was all about Scion defense. Both sides started to flag in terms of consistency on attack, and that meant several turnovers on Scion’s 22. But just when the Lions thought they were in a position to capitalize on advantageous territory, the Scion defense would just pressure and push and force errant passes until a stoppage. Cowdrey used the boot as a weapon, but overall, the Lions could not get through Scion’s 22.
The final straw occurred after the Lions broke the line but then handed back possession with a not-releasing penalty — courtesy of RK Lutton. With 30 seconds to go, TRB MVP Coffey went weak off the Scion scrum and stepped the defense for another 50-meter try, 17-5 the final.
FINAL STANDINGS
1. Scion (Mid-Atlantic)
2. Chicago Lions (Midwest)
3. Washington AC (Pacific NW)
4. Chicago North Shore (Midwest)
5. San Diego (SoCal)
6. Chicago Lions Bonus Track (Midwest)
7. Oregon Sharks (Pacific NW)
8. Dallas Harlequins (Red River)
9. Boston (Northeast)
10. Phoenix (South)
11. East Palo Alto (NorCal)
12. HEB (Red River)
13. NOVA (Mid-Atlantic)
14. Phoenixville (Mid-Atlantic)
15. Slaughterhouse (Mid-Atlantic)
16. Orlando (South)
It’s worth noting that both Scion and Chicago Lions are big on integrating collegians. That’s important, because rather than lament the absence of WPL players and their teams (due to conflicting seasons), attention can turn to the college-aged and what’s coming down the pipe.
Scion had five players from the NIRA and NCR ranks join its vets and returners. The Lions also had returning (Cowdrey, Ashley Torres-Brown, McKenna Ramsey) and local (Sereana Vulaono) collegians across its two teams. There were also a couple of Rhinos who helped boost a player core that are key to the 15s program as well. The Oregon Sharks also had good U23 representation with Syd Copeland, Mo Cricchio, Anayi Merrill, Merary Ulloa-Uribe, for example.
Also worth noting, the Midwest (3) and Pacific Northwest (2) placed all of their teams in the top eight.