Winona State Wins DII Fall Championship

Winona State won the USA Rugby DII College Fall Championship with a 19-10 win over the Colorado School of Mines. The Black Katts advanced to the final with a 42-36 semifinal win over the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and Mines beat 2018 champion Vassar College 29-15 on Saturday.

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The bulk of the action, as far as the scoreboard was concerned, occurred in the first half, and the Black Katts built a 19-5 lead into the break. But there was no sense that Winona was running away with the game, and much like Saturday, Mines set the tone early on.

Mines’ formidable counter-rucking and poaching game made an immediate impact, as a stolen ruck led to a penalty kick to touch and 22-meter lineout in Winona’s end. The set piece had its challenges later in the game, but the first one was solid. Mines worked the offload game, which was untidy but effective, and drew a not-releasing penalty to continue the try line assault. But then Winona dislodged the ball in the tackle and flanker Diana Tapia made a nice one-handed scoop off the ground to put a teammate into open space. The kick downfield hit the ground and a favorable roll followed, relocating play to the 45 meter and essentially ending that scoring opportunity for Mines.

Emily Becker, and occasionally Annika Culver, drove a very influential kicking game, one that wasn’t seen against Coast Guard on Saturday. Perhaps the Black Katts didn’t want to engage the Bears’ dangerous back three and then changed tactics against Mines. Whatever the motivation, the inside center’s boot and disciplined chase were essential to the territorial game.

Mines gave up two penalties, setting up Winona lineouts inside the 22, and repelled the dive-over attempts at the line. The ball then moved away from the ruck and to prop Makayla Leraas in the back line. The hard-charging, mobile front row darted into the try zone for the opener and Becker converted: 7-0 after 13 minutes.

Like all good teams, Mines answered from the restart. No. 8 Evie Oglesby stripped the ball away from Winona and tore away from mid-field. The loosie hit wing Charly Wollaston for a long break that nearly ended in the try zone if it wasn’t for Becker’s last-ditch tackle. Mines, as always, was quick in support, retained possession and launched a pick-and-go series. Prop Erin Visak stabbed through for the try: 7-5 after 15 minutes.

But the rapid-fire scoring wasn’t over. An error on the restart allowed Winona to race into scoring position, and although a turnover and Mines scrum followed, the clearance kick did not go far. The Black Katts pressured a penalty, and Tapia tapped through the mark quickly and moved the ball to Leraas for another powerful carry and try: 12-5 at 18 minutes.

Another Becker kick and offsides penalty kept Winona on the front foot. But then the opportunistic Morgan Walls picked up a loose ball out the back of a Black Katts scrum and set in motion a solid series that put the team back in scoring position. A penalty at the try line allowed Becker to kick to touch for some relief, and from the lineout, a nice backline move saw Culver loop Becker and then kick behind the Mines wing coming up on defense.

The remainder of the half was mostly spent in Mines’ end but both teams struggled to capitalize on their opportunities. Winona stole a scrum, but the short-side pick was pushed into touch. Mines overthrew its lineout but the receipt was knocked on. Confusion preceded a Mines’ pass to no one, Becker recovered it on the run, and Tapia and Leraas teamed up again, but a not-rolling away penalty ended the scoring op.

On the last play of the half, Winona outside center Abby Andler, who was relatively quiet against Coast Guard but upped her presence in the final, stepped and fended 15 meters for a nice individual try. Winona took a 14-point lead into the half.

The second half saw the teams stick with their strengths. If a Winona ballcarrier didn’t dominate the contact point, then Mines quickly stepped over the tackle and rucked over for the steal. Even when the game was out of reach, Mines never stopped punishing lackluster drives or slow support.

Winona remained vigilant in its kicking game to dictate territory, and then around the 50th minute, Mines activated inside center Marisa Shigio’s boot to relieve pressure when playing out of its 22. That adjustment immediately paid off and Winona got into penalty trouble quickly.

Both teams were able to drive from one end of the pitch to the other, but handling errors and turnovers in the ruck chopped up possession. With little time on the clock, the Mines defense stole a ruck, moved the ball down the line, and reserve Marion Hope pinned the defense before releasing fullback Michaela Adams for the try: 19-10.

There was time for another kick off, but Winona waited for the buzzer to sound and then kicked to out for the win.