Teams in all three National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) divisions were active last weekend, and some really interesting results came out of both conference and non-conference play. At the bottom of the recap are games for week four of NCAA varsity rugby. [lead photo: Pat Moroney]

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In DIVISION I, there were two really competitive, single-digit matches and one big shutout. Harvard (2-0-1) is getting experience in the late-game comeback. A week after tying Quinnipiac (QU interview: Anna Van Dyk & Ava O’Malley) on an 80th-minute try, the Crimson dotted down a game-winning score against Sacred Heart (1-1) in the 78th minute: 25-20 the final. Lennox London (2) Neasa McLaughlin and Reese Morgan scored Harvard’s tries, while Chloe Headland kicked five points on a conversion and penalty. Aly Cunningham led Sacred Heart with 15 points (T, 2C, 2PK) and Reece Woods also scored a try.

 

 

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“We knew this match was going to be intense competition, and it did not disappoint,” Sacred Heart head coach Michelle Reed told SHU Athletics. “We played with tenacity and grit and I’m proud of our performance. It was a team effort and set a great foundation for the rest of the season.”

Harvard hosts Oxford University from England this weekend, while Sacred Heart travels to Mount St. Mary’s University (0-2) on Saturday.

Queens University of Charlotte (1-1) and Brown University (1-0-1) split the geographical distance and met at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. When the teams met this time last year, the Bears won 33-0, but 2024 was a much closer affair. Brown went up 14-0 on tries from Aziza Alford and Akilah Cathey, and conversions from Julia Murray and Genie Dickens. Queens then responded with two converted tries of their own: 14-14.

 

The exchange continued, as Queens again answered Jordan Wiseman’s try and Murray’s conversion, keeping the scoreline to 21-21 until the final 10 minutes of play. That’s when Murray kicked a penalty for the 24-21 edge that held until regulation.

“It was another tight match that our squad was able to maintain composure and finish the game,” Brown head coach Ros Chou told Brown Athletics. “There were times where the result could have been different and they were able to maintain physicality; we have some work to do with our discipline, as penalties really put us under pressure.”

Brown will play a non-conference match against DII AIC on Friday, and Queens is back on the road for another meet-in-the-middle match against Dartmouth (2-0). That game will occur on Sunday at the naval academy in Annapolis, Md.

 

 

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Dartmouth picked up its second win of the season with a 93-0 shutout against fellow Ivy Leaguer Princeton (0-2). Paola Arredondo-Almeida (3T), Annie Henrich (T, 5C) and Sierra Santiago (3T) led with 15 points apiece, while Cindy Taulava (2T), Jordis Lomu (T, C) and Bianca Ortiz-Pallen (3C) also contributed to the scoreboard. AdiLeilah Bulabalavu, Katija Crawford, Katie Hansen, Sia Meni and Vasiti Turagavou scored one try apiece for the Big Green. Read the play-by-play.

As mentioned, Dartmouth travels to Navy to play Queens this weekend, while Princeton hosts DIII Bowdoin College in a non-conference match.

DIVISION II saw its first conference match of the season, and American International College (1-0) asserted itself in an 84-3 win against West Chester University (0-1). Naomi Dodd led all point-scorers with 25 on five tries. Kiyanah Edwards and Annekkia Ritter-Truxal visited the try zone twice apiece, while Morgan Schechter, Venise Sanft and Angel Davis added a try each. Cam Henderson (T, 4C) and Noa Lagilagi (T, C) added tries and conversions as well. West Chester got its three points from Emma Davies five minutes into the match.

 

The Yellow Jackets challenge themselves against DI Brown this weekend while West Chester looks to regroup against DII Frostburg State at home.

Challenge is what Davenport was looking for when it invited DI Army (1-1) to Grand Rapids, Mich., last weekend, and challenge is what it got. The Black Knights won 36-3. Stevie-Rae Ricklick, Mckhaye O’Boyle, Tiamane Fiatoa, Emily Steen and Cassidy Ball scored tries for Army, while Alissa Eisenhart kicked 11 points on a penalty and four conversions. Army plays another non-conference match on Wednesday, Sept. 25 when Oxford University continues its tour south.

Davenport got its three points from an Aubrey Crist penalty kick. The Panthers were supposed to play their first DII conference match this weekend against Univ. New Haven in Indiana, Pa., but that game has just been canceled.

 

 

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The Chargers were also in action last weekend and played DIII champion Bowdoin College. The Polar Bears triumphed 69-21 in the non-conference match. Seven players scored tries, with Saniya Ridley (2) and Malia Petelo (3) crossing for multiple times. Lulu Linkas added 10 points on five conversions. LaLa Guimares, Aggie Mahan and Sereana Vulaono dotted down New Haven’s tries and Sydney Dela Cruz converted all three.

Bowdoin plays its second DI program, Princeton, this fall on Saturday. New Haven is idle this weekend.

NIRA Week 4: Sept. 20-22

DIVISION I
Sacred Heart (1-1) @ Mount St. Mary’s (0-2)
Dartmouth (2-0) v Queens (1-1) @ Annapolis
Quinnipiac (0-0-2) @ Navy (0-1)

DIVISION II
West Chester (0-1) v Frostburg St (1-0)

NON-CONFERENCE
Harvard v Oxford Univ (Eng)
Army v Oxford (9/25)
DI Brown v DII AIC
DI Princeton v DIII Bowdoin
DI Long Island v Northeastern (DI NCR)