The Women’s Premier League (WPL) has wrapped on its regular season, and thus the semifinals are solidified. Teams have two weeks to recover and ready for the Oct. 7 playoffs, and then the finalists will meet in Glendale, Colo., for the Oct. 14 national championship.
A full report will post on wplrugby.org, but a quick recap … Berkeley had secured the top seed a couple of weeks ago and ended the season with a 38-17 win against visiting Beantown today. The teams were within a conversion of each other (14-12) at halftime, but then three tries in the third quarter provided the All Blues the cushion they needed to win more comfortably. [Stay tuned for comments from Shelby Lin and Sarah Harkness]
Beantown, meanwhile, saw four players play in their first WPL game, and their impact off the bench was impressive. The Boston team ended the season fourth in the standings and will return to Berkeley on Oct. 7 for the semifinals.
New York built a 24-0 halftime lead against the TC Amazons (tries from Kristen Aliberto, Shamira Robles, Mahdia Parker and Denise Zambon Regalado) before ending with a 41-0 win on the road. New York finished third in the standings and will travel to No. 2 Colorado Gray Wolves – who finished league season last weekend – on Oct. 7.
Life West also won its final game 55-10 against Chicago North Shore and finished fifth in the standings. The Gladiatrix, North Shore and Amazons are done for the fall, but do have the opportunity to compete with the WPL All-Stars in Seattle on Nov. 11. More to come.