The Women’s Elite Rugby (WER) Legacy Cup takes place Sunday, June 29 at TCO Stadium in Eagan, Minn. Finalists Denver Onyx and New York Exiles kick off at 2 p.m. CT, but there is a whole weekend’s worth of events occurring in and around the stadium. For all your game-day info, visit the Legacy Cup homepage and be sure to follow @rugbyevolved for the latest.
GENERAL INFO
• Date: Sunday, June 29
• Location: TCO Stadium, 2685 Vikings Cir Suite 200, Eagan, MN 55121
• Tickets: Lawn, GA, reserved & more
• Schedule (CT)
10 a.m. Gates Open
11 a.m. Curtain-raiser: Wisconsin U23s vs. Twin Cities Amazons
2 p.m. Legacy Cup: Denver vs. New York
• Livestream: www.womenseliterugby.us/watch-online
Ina Bailey / Photo: Mike Conners @mikeconnersphoto23
DENVER ONYX
The Sarah Chobot-coached team is looking pretty elite. Twelve of the starting 15 players are capped 7s and/or 15s players, including captain and No. 8 Rachel Johnson. Jules Tordonato is the vice captain and voice in the backs. A lot of players were part of the Pacific Four Series tour in the middle of the WER season, as well as the USA Falcons trips to Brazil (15s) and France (7s). The competition for this match-day 23 is evident, as some standout personnel have not made the cut. Suffice to say, the Onyx are looking intimidating.
1. Maya Learned
2. Saher Hamdan
3. Sheila Decker
4. Hallie Taufoou
5. Rachel Ehrecke
6. Kapoina Bailey
7. Tahlia Brody
8. Rachel Johnson (C)
9. Carly Waters
10. McKenzie Hawkins
11. KB Broughton
12. Kennedy Feasby
13. Jules Tordonato (VC)
14. Nana Fa’avesi
15. Kristin Bitter
16. Gianna Solomon
17. Mikaela Hall
18. Laura LaVigne
19. Caroline Bullock
20. Amy Spafford
21. Carson Hann
22. Alessandra Bender Cruz
23. Kelsie O’Brien
Photo: Sean Hale @seanhaleyeah
NEW YORK EXILES
New York is the only team that beat Denver in the regular season, and it was that victory that secured the Exiles’ place in the final. The Diego Maquieira-coached squad may be the underdog on paper, but on the pitch, it knows it can win and has everything to gain from Sunday’s runout. No. 8 Misha Green-Yotts anchors the forwards and serves as field captain. Flyhalf Aly Cunningham is fresh off the USA Falcons tour to Brazil and will be a dangerous combination with Jetta Owens — the league’s leading points scorer — and inside center. And just like Denver, there are some standout players from the regular season who did not make the final 23, and that selection honor will surely play out on the pitch.
1. Kayla Hunkin-Clark
2. Jessica Ruiz
3. Pooki A’au
4. Chloe Jex
5. Jessica Salud
6. Daisy Titus
7. Gio Cruz
8. Misha Green-Yotts (C)
9. Maggie Ribardo
10. Aly Cunningham
11. Veronica Blair (#21)
12. Jetta Owens
13. Sophie Frick
14. Scout Cheeks
15. Tess Feury
16. Faith Morley
17. Emily Brower
18. Corina Kaiser
19. Cari Pick
20. Justina DeBruzzi
21. Sarah Minahan (#11)
22. Allysa O’Neill
23. Shamira Robles