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Club Rugby Recap: Weekend Of October 5-6

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ATLANTIC NORTH

Women’s

There were four lead changes between Raleigh (1-1) and Boston (1-1), and the teams were within one try of each other the 79th minute. That’s when the Venom prop Megan Gilmore scored the game’s final try, and Chelsea Garber’s third conversion afforded the 31-19 win. In the lead-up, outside center Shawn Gatewood dotted down three times and flanker Hannah Spencer added five points. Boston scored through Isabel Haber, Italia Ieraci and Emma Santosuosso, and Stacey Markovic added two conversions.
In the Empire GU, the Village Lions posted a 68-5 win over Monmouth, and now both are 4-1. Eight New Yorkers scored tries in the win, with No. 8 Adriana Castillo and inside center Ais Smith doubling their efforts. Colby Ruys de Perez knocked over eight conversions to lead on points. Hannah Septoff (3) and Emma Ferraro (2) scored Morris’ five tries against New Haven (1-4), winning 29-19 and improving to 4-1. Brooklyn enjoyed a 64-14 win over Uticuse, and Juliet Wade, Margaret Ewen, Jane Wade and Kathleen Mason scored multiple tries a piece.
In the New England GU DII-leading Worcester enjoyed a bye week, while the rest of the field closed in. Providence improved to 3-1 with a 29-0 win over Charles River, and Albany (2-3) held off Hartford (1-3) in a 38-27 contest. Burlington (2-2) dropped a 15-10 decision to Portland (3-2) but banked a bonus point in the close defeat.
Seacoast (1-2) got its first win of the NERFU DIII season, but only after a three-try spree in the final 10 minutes against Upper Valley (2-1). Amber Nault crossed twice and then Stacy Woodley added the game-winner. Delaney Payne’s conversion made it 37-34 to Seacoast.

Men’s

Starting off the weekend in the Atlantic North, the New York City rivalry between Old Blue and NYAC was renewed again. The American Rugby Premiership matchup lived up to the hype as the teams battled to the end at Travers Island. When the final whistle sounded, it was a massive win for the Winged Foot as NYAC was victorious in a 36-34 triumph.
After dropping its first game, White Plains has been on a rampage in the Empire DII as it beat the Fairfield Yankees on the road, 35-27. The boot of Thomas Strachen, who slotted six penalties and scored 25 of his team’s points, highlighted the match where the lead changed hands five times. In the only other Empire DII game, New Haven’s Stephen Cappello scored a late try to nip the Union County Mudturtles, 40-39.
Up in New England, South Shore overcame a 15-0 deficit late in the first half against Mystic Barbarians to earn a bonus point 43-20 victory and remain undefeated in DII. The Boston Irish Wolfhounds kept pace with the frontrunners earning a bonus point themselves beating divisional contender Newport, 39-22, and Boston’s 55-18 victory over Worcester has them leapfrog both Mystic and Newport to sit at third in the standings.
NERFU DIII wrapped up the majority of the regular season pool play this weekend. MIT pulled the upset of the division as it knocked off the previously-undefeated Amoskeag, 57-32. MIT scored eight tries with Aaron West and Alex Sawyer dotting down a pair each. Boston Maccabi remains the only undefeated squad with a narrow victory over North Shore, 28-26. Down in the Empire, only one team remains with no losses as the Rochester Aardvarks beat cross-town rivals Rochester Colonials, 36-28, and are close to locking up a #1 seed for the playoffs. Morris, who had been dominating in New Jersey DIII played to a draw with Monmouth, 17-17. Lansdowne knocked Brooklyn from the ranks of the unbeaten by an impressive 45-7 score.
Lastly, Rockaway and North Jersey continued to roll over opponents in Empire DIV. Rockaway put away NYRC, 82-7, as it scored 14 tries in the victory and North Jersey crushed the Rochester Aardvarks, 49-19. In the NERFU, the Boston Ironsides bounced back from a disappointing forfeit last week to a commanding 59-27 win over Black River. In a statement match between two of the top teams in the division, Monadnock battled all 80 minutes against a balanced and proven Freedom team, but it came down to the sure-footed flyhalf Ely Thayer to split the uprights with a penalty in the 70th minute for the 13-12 victory.

FRONTIER

Women’s

Houston Athletic went 1-1 on its DI doubleheader road trip to Colorado. The Texans opened against Glendale (1-0) and with 10 minutes remaining in regulation, trailed 50-26. But a massive closing effort put Carson Aslop, Bonnie Richardson and Meredith Frasier into the try zone, and Delia Nava’s conversion pulled the scoreline to 50-43, thus affording two bonus points in the loss. Caitlin Weigel, Franciny Alves Amaral, JT Wypych each scored two tries on Saturday. HARC then turned around and withstood three lead changes en route to a 34-22 win over Denver Black Ice (0-3) on Sunday. Richardson finished the weekend with five tries.

Men’s

A total of seven games were played in the Frontier between Mid-America and the Rocky Mountains. In Mid-America DII, the St. Louis Royal Ramblers notched its first win of the season beating Kansas City, 15-12, while Sunday Morning continued its dominance in DIII with an 83-24 bludgeoning of the Royal Ramblers’ DIII side.
With the HSBC World Rugby Women’s USA 7s event at Infinity Park, games were limited in the Rockies. In Eastern Rockies Cup pool play, the Colorado Springs Grizzlies upset the Denver Barbarians, 29-28, for the first time in at least 12 years. With only a few weeks until the Eastern Rockies Cup final this November, spots are up for grabs in the division.
In the Rocky Mountain Men’s Championship, the Queen City Rams, last year’s Frontier DIII champions, got their first win of the season in a hard-fought 30-19 victory over the Northern Colorado Flamingos and Denver Barbarians D4 defeated Colorado Springs Grizzlies D4, 36-34, as they look to once again defend their Rocky Mountain Rugby Challenge League title.
On a side note, Springfield traveled to play a friendly match versus Little Rock. After the match, Springfield’s coach Mark Owings suffered a massive heart attack after playing 80 minutes in the heat. Thanks to some very quick thinking and response from Johanna Bade, Hanna Jo, Zach Tisdale, Brett Bibel, and David Caswell, he was able to be revived and stabilized through the use of CPR and an on-hand Automated External Defibrillator (AED) until the paramedics arrived. Owings went immediately into surgery at UAMS Medical Center and he is now stable, awake, moving, and responding. The paramedics noted that he was saved because of the AED device application, CPR, and fearless action.

MID-ATLANTIC

Women’s

NOVA (2-0) and Philadelphia (0-2) contested an equally tense game. Twenty-eight minutes in, NOVA flyhalf Emily Blease lit up the scoreboard with a try, and Stephanie Barros followed minutes after the half. Bri Kim’s first of two conversions afforded a 12-0 lead, until No. 8 Lucy Dawson scored back-to-back tries. Kate Hallinan kicked the extras and then added a penalty minutes later: 19-15 to NOVA with 15 minutes to play. Neither defense budged and NOVA held on for its second win.
The most exciting DII game of the weekend went to Doylestown and Phoenixville. White Horse built a 15-point lead in the first half, and then the Dragons slowly chipped away. In the 79th minute, fullback Sarah Ross scored to give Doylestown its only, and most important, lead of the game, and Katharine Walston’s conversion afforded the 24-20 win.
Scrumhalf Maria Romanchak and outside center Alyson McCarty helped Severn River improve to 4-0, scoring two tries apiece in the team’s 47-7 win over James River (1-2). Giulia DiSanto, Mia Akau and Shannon Hubbard led Norfolk (1-2) with two tries each in a 51-17 win over Northeast Philadelphia.
In the DIII North, York & Lancaster beat Wilmington (1-4) 38-17. Flyhalf Kayla Robison accounted for 16 points on two tries and three conversions. In the South, the Maryland Exiles (2-0) remained undefeated with a 56-0 win over Frederick (1-1). Diana Roman, Rachel Williams, Tanya Gouws and Chinasa Dike scored two tries apiece.

Men’s

In the rematch of last season’s Mid-Atlantic DI final, NOVA looked to have Rocky Gorge on the ropes up 21-3 after 60 minutes of play, but Gorge awoke from its slumber to score five unanswered tries to win 38-21. In the south division, the Potomac Exiles rebounded from last week’s loss to come from behind in the last five minutes to beat Baltimore-Chesapeake, 33-29. Lastly, the Pittsburgh Harlequins nabbed their first win on the final play against the visiting Norfolk Blues, 25-24, when Joji Vakasisikakala scored the game-winner as time expired.
In the DII South, James River claimed the first round in its cross-town derby against Richmond, 41-19, and Washington narrowly edged Virginia, 31-29, for its first W of the season. As for the North, South Jersey attempted a late second-half comeback against Old Gaelic, but the Devils fell short, 39-24, and Wilmington doubled up the Roses, 40-14.
In the crowded DIII, a few teams have separated themselves from the pack. In the Central, Rocky Gorge and the Washington Irish are undefeated and Severn River and the Washington Renegades trail close behind at 3-1. With the Northeast Philadelphia Irish and Reading on a bye, Media matched the Irish’s record at 3-0-1 by beating Delmarva, 27-5, Brandywine is in third after a 55-26 defeat of the Hibernians, and Harrisburg slipped into second of the Red division with a 49-0 shutout against Blackthorn. Only one game was played in the South this weekend as Rappahannock continued to impress with a 47-24 demolition of Newport News. Jacques Keet was a man on fire with four tries and six conversions to lead his team to its third win.

MIDWEST

Women’s

When the DI Chicago Lions (4-0-1) and Metropolis (3-1-1) first met, they finished with a tie, 12-12. The rematch, contested in Minnesota, went to the Lions 33-12, while Katie Lohaus led as Player of the Match. Meanwhile, Chicago (4-2) and Detroit (2-4) exchanged the lead three times in the first half, but the second half saw Chicago pull away 41-27. Flyhalf Sarah Anderson accounted for 16 points on a try, penalty and four conversions.
All of the DII victors held their opponents to two tries or fewer. West-leading Palmer College (4-0) moved the ball around in its 76-7 victory over the winless County Will Morrigans, and wing Jessica Hernandez accounted for three of the 12 tries scored. Milwaukee Scylla (3-1) shut out the Minneapolis Menagerie (0-3) 67-0, and inside center Abigail Williams contributed 27 points on three tries and six conversions. Wing Mariah Lundstrum scored a hat trick in Twin Cities 44-10 win over Chicago Sirens (2-2) to improve to 3-1.
Buffalo and Pittsburgh Forge remain undefeated in East Gold, but that will change this Saturday when they face each other. Buffalo spent last weekend beating Cleveland (1-1) 31-5 and got its points from Emma McAndrew (2T), Jenna Hutzler (T, 2C), Nicole Faulise (2C, P) and Trisha John (T). Meanwhile,
North Buffalo (2-2) ran away with a 55-5 contest against Akron (0-4). Eight players scored the nine tries, and outside center Grace DeSanto (2T) and flyhalf Christina Killourhy (4C) led on points scored.
Fort Wayne (2-1) halfbacks Kara Fultz and Megan Ahnen do a lot of damage for Fort Wayne, which is now 2-1 after an 86-point performance against Louisville (0-4). Also in East Green, Columbus (4-0) beat Grand Rapids (2-3) 69-5 and finished all of its tries against Grand Rapids (2-3) through the backs, with Brittany Latham and wing Madeline Kohr ending the day with hat tricks.

Men’s

In the Midwest Rugby Premiership, home teams ruled on Saturday as the hosts won by a combined score of 176-54. Cincinnati and Metropolis blew out their opponents, while Detroit and Palmer had to work for their wins. Detroit’s 35-24 victory over the Chicago Griffins increases its win total to 5-0 and the Tradesmen will be tested again this weekend as they travel to the second-place Lions.
The Pittsburgh Forge and Wisconsin remained on the top of the table of the East and West divisions in DII with big wins over Indianapolis and the Eastside Banshees. The Green Bay Celtics are looking over Wisconsin’s shoulder at 4-1 after dispatching Metropolis, 36-17, and the Chicago Lions secured its second win in a row after dropping its first three.
Through the first month and a half of the season, only nine of the 47 DIII teams are left on undefeated island: the Fox Valley Maoris, Akron, the Bremer County Bucks, the St, Cloud Bottom Feeders, the St. Paul Jazz Pigs, Fort Wayne, the Grand Rapid Gazelles, Queen City, Oconomowoc, and the Oshkosh Pigs.
One of the closest matches of the weekend was between St. Cloud and the Rochester Rogues in the cold and wet of DIII Minnesota. In the battle of #2 versus #3, St. Cloud’s Luke Morgan scored a try 15 minutes in and fullback Marc Severson tacked the conversion for the 7-0 lead. The defenses took over and it wasn’t until the end of the game that either team would influence the scoreboard. In the 75th minute, the Rogues’ Michael Schatz crossed the whitewash, but Rochester was unable to convert and the final was 7-5 in favor of the home team.
Other impact scores were Fox Valley’s 35-12 defeat of Rockford, Akron’s 41-39 win over the Cleveland Crusaders, Bremer County’s 48-15 victory against Des Moines, Grand Rapids’ 59-0 and Fort Wayne’s 78-0 shutouts to finish their seasons, the Columbus Castaways’ 74-0 and Louisville’s 28-0 domination in the South, and Oconomowoc’s 45-10 drubbing of Milwaukee and Oshkosh’s 34-29 edging of Fond du Lac to stay perfect in Wisconsin.
In DIV, the Westside Outcasts extended their unbeaten streak to four games with a 38-26 win over Dayton, Fort Wayne improved its record to 5-1 with a 27-0 triumph over the Jackson Fenians, and a penalty from John Matthews in the 79th minute broke a tie between the Kenosha Mammoths and Chicago Silverbacks to send Kenosha to a 27-24 victory.

PACIFIC NORTHWEST

The Seattle Saracens were three-time winners on Saturday as their men’s and women’s premier and men’s premier reserve sides all won. Playing Meraloma at Starfire Stadium in Tukwila, Wash., the Sarries’ men’s premier won its second game in a row, 38-28, and the women put on a clinic to surpass the century mark, 143-0. The men’s premier reserve survived a late scare to win 27-22.

Women’s

In the DII Pacific Northwest, Tacoma bested Boise United 71-10, and Emerald City kept its undefeated record intact with a tough 32-12 win over Bend. South Sound got a second win in its first-ever league season, defeating ORSU 54-10.
“What I have noticed over the past few games is that some of our newer players have a lot more confidence in their ability to move the ball up the field, go into contact, and trust their teammates to support them,” South Sound head coach Cassie Bordelon explained. “When that happens we play super solid, patient rugby, and we see it pay off with tries. It’s very exciting to think of how we can continue to build off that going into our friendly with Mudhens B this weekend, and into the start of our spring season in March.”

Men’s

In men’s DII, Tacoma notched its first ever win over the Boise United, the defending PNRFU DII champion. A late surge by Tacoma gave the Nomads enough of a boost to dot down a try in the ending minutes to win, 32-31. In the other two matches, the Portland Pigs’ pack dominated ORSU en route to a 45-24 victory and the Eastside Tsunami ran roughshod over the Valley Kangaroos, 90-7, in a fast-paced, good-spirited game.
Noteworthy results in DIII include the Eugene Stags and the Clark County Chiefs defeating the Boise United on two-day road trip, the Eastside Axemen beating Tacoma, 24-20, Chuckanut Bay tripling up Seattle, 60-17, and Portland winning on the road against ORSU, 24-19.

SOUTH

Women’s

After taking a forfeit win against Camp Lejeune, Savannah ran out to a 73-32 victory against Charleston (1-2). Shamrocks Katherine Smith, Amanda Fernandez and Riketa Granville put in multi-try performances. Augusta, which beat Charleston 33-27, is also 2-0 in DII Carolinas-Georgia.
The DII True South held its first matrix match of the season, Knoxville beat Nashville 34-0. Wing Elizabeth Terry-Emert and scrumhalf Regina Durkan scored two tries apiece.

Men’s

The much-anticipated match between two of the best DI clubs in the nation didn’t disappoint as Life hosted 404 Rugby Atlanta in Marietta, Ga. With many of the players on both teams going to play for the MLR’s Rugby ATL this spring, the game was sneak peek for what’s in store next year. What transpired was a hard-nosed, physical battle where the lead was exchanged six times, ultimately on the last play of the game. Down 21-17 for most of the second half, 404 scored the game-winner in the 80th minute to win 22-21 and push its ARP record to 4-0.
The Clarksville Headhunters started their DII True South fall season with a 50-17 win over Huntsville and in the Carolinas, Greenville traveled to Southern Pines in the only DII match of the weekend and fell 67-7. This sets up a matchup of the undefeated next week as Asheville hosts Southern Pines.
Lastly, in the lone DIII match, the Clayton Bootleggers cruised past Camp Lejeune, 66-35, in a likely preview of the Carolina Union DIII Championship in the spring.

Club Rugby Recap: Weekend Of September 21/22

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The second full week of fall club rugby had its sixth geographic region join the competition as the South began its fall schedule. Along with the Atlantic North, Frontier, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and the Pacific Northwest, there were nearly 150 matches this past weekend.

ATLANTIC NORTH

Men’s

The third week of action in the American Rugby Premiership saw the red and white “Winged Foot” nab its second win and the mean green Running Eagles dispatch Old Blue in a low-scoring affair. With a flurry of yellow cards showing a need for better discipline from both clubs, NYAC handled Mystic River with a converted score at the final whistle to push the scoreline to 27-3. As for Life’s 15-8 victory over Old Blue, Zander Van Schalkwyk and Sam Cowley combined for a 10-0 lead in the first ten minutes and the defense held back the New York attack until the last minutes for its second win.
In men’s DII in New England, the Mystic Barbarians avenged last year’s playoff loss to Newport, beating them 38-20 to maintain sole possession of first and South Shore dominated a struggling Portland club, 89-7, to hold onto second place in the standings. Last year’s top-finisher in DIII, the Boston Maccabi, made a statement by eclipsing the century mark against Burlington, 114-0, while previously winless Old Gold showed some parity in the middle of the division as it bested the previously-undefeated Charles River in a close match, 24-21.
Finally in DIV, Monadnock continued on its winning ways by blasting the Boston Ironsides, 75-7, and dedicated the game to a fan of Wolfpack Nation, Jariah, who is battling Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare form of cancer. With the league’s #1 and #2 point-scorers on their club, Freedom rebounded from last week’s close loss, to double up Black River, 61-26, and “drawing a line in the sand” halfway through the season of NERFU’s DIV contenders and pretenders.
In the Empire, Buffalo Rugby Club and the Fairfield Yankees remained undefeated and tied atop of the men’s DII table as both won on the road. In a showdown with New Haven, Buffalo dominated the Old Black, 49-3, and was led by a 24-point effort from flyhalf Simon Honig (try, five conversions, and three penalties). Fairfield’s match against the New York Rugby Club was neck and neck for most of the test until the Yankees locked up the 33-18 win as Matt Leonard scored his second try and impact sub, Filimoni Botitu, added one of his own.
In the DIII Atlantic, Greenwich moved to the top of the group with a comprehensive 64-14 win over White Plains and Morris continued to dominate in New Jersey as they are rebuilding after an off year in 2018 with a 70-5 drubbing of Princeton AC. In NYC, Brooklyn stayed undefeated defeating the Village Lions, 46-7, and with a 27-27 tie against Lansdowne, Old Blue DIII remained in hot pursuit of Brooklyn. Finally, in Upstate, Rochester Aardvarks slipped by Buffalo, 15-5, and KenTon was relentless running in 11 tries in a 73-12 win over Southtowns. This coming Saturday, the Aardvarks travel to KenTon in an intriguing match-up for first place.

Women’s

Monmouth (3-0) is the only undefeated team in the DII Empire GU, but Brooklyn (52-7 vs. Union), Morris (66-0 vs. Long Island), Uticuse (28-0 vs. Danbury) and Village Lions (31-5 vs. New Haven) picked up bonus-point wins on the weekend. Leading scorers included Morris inside center Emma Ferraro and Brooklyn wing Margaret Ewen, who scored four and five tries apiece.
In DII New England, attention focused on Worcester vs. Portland, a match that featured several lead changes and a single-digit decision. The Shamrocks went up early through Ashley Walker and then Portland responded with three-straight tries. Worcester matched the output with consecutive scores from Walker, Laura Hetherman and Laurin Harvey, before Portland surged again. A final converted try afforded the 31-24 win to the Shamrocks. In other results, Albany beat Charles River 50-5, and Providence forfeited to Burlington due to numbers.
In New England’s Division III, South Shore won its first-ever league match: 40-29 over Seacoast.
“The girls are tough,” South Shore coach Paul Lenaghan said. “We went ahead two tries and then allowed them to score three tries in a row. We spent most of the second half trying to regain the lead and with 11 minutes to go, we were ahead by two and then won by 11.
“Oh my goodness,” Lenaghan laughed as he recalled the team’s reaction to its first league win. “For those 6-7 players who have been showing up to practice for years, in the rain, in the winter, with no team – for them to experience playing in a jersey with 15 players, to experience winning, to score and have 14 other players congratulate you – you can’t buy that. They were absolutely hyper.”

FRONTIER

Men’s

While the Rocky Mountains were idle for the Aspen Ruggerfest, Mid-America GU kicked off the fall with three DIII men’s matches. The results included a blowout, and draw, and a shutout. In its first game after the merger of the St. Louis Royals and the St. Louis Ramblers, the Royal Ramblers took out the Kansas City Blues, 43-15. The last two matches saw the long rivalry between St. Louis Hornets and Columbia Outlaws end in a 20-20 hard-fought draw and Springfield score 11 tries by nine players for a dominating 69-0 victory against the St. Louis Mercenaries.

MID-ATLANTIC

Men’s

After a last second victory over Rocky Gorge last Saturday, Schuylkill River kept up the momentum a 77-5 win over Pittsburgh to retain the Pelly Cup. Cesar Da Fonseca and John Ramirez each logged hat tricks and last weekend’s hero, Brian Keown, notched 18 points. Rebounding from week one’s loss, Rocky Gorge took out its frustrations on Baltimore-Chesapeake, 42-28, and NOVA fell into a 0-2 hole after 32-31 loss to the Washington Irish. Lastly, the Potomac Exiles joined Schuylkill in the unbeaten ranks with a 29-10 triumph over the Norfolk Blues.
Men’s DII opened its first weekend of play with five games in the Capital and EPRU. The Richmond Lions began its season with a 33-31 defeat of Washington in the South division while in the North, Doylestown, Old Gaelic, and Philadelphia-Whitemarsh, scored over thirty points in victory. Lastly, South Jersey celebrated its 50th club anniversary with a 35-21 win versus Phoenixville White Horse.
The much-anticipated men’s DIII clash between the Northeast Philadelphia Irish and Media lived up to the hype and ultimately ended in a 22-22 draw. Media trailed 22-10 with less than ten minutes after the Irish’s Raekwon Caswell scored in the 70th minute. Media responded with barrage of forward play resulting in a Drew Butkus try. The conversion failed, but Media was right back on attack with the man advantage after an Irish player was binned. The forwards took control and Butkus scored a second try at the horn, but the tie would depend on the subsequent kick from the corner. Ryan Gregory redeemed himself by slotting the conversion for the draw.
Elsewhere in DIII, Reading upset Wilkes-Barre, 31-24, in the North; Severn River, the Washington Irish, and West Potomac remained undefeated in the Central; and Virginia Beach kept its foot on the gas with a 26-5 win over Norfolk in the South. In DIV, North Bay’s slim 36-24 victory over West Potomac sent its record to 2-0 and the Washington Renegades and Loudoun improved to 1-1 with wins.

Women’s

Division II produced three lopsided victories, while Division III saw more parity. Severn River improved to 2-0 with a 65-12 win over Northeast Philadelphia. Of the nine players who scored tries, only outside center Alyson McCarty doubled up. Flyhalf Katharine Walston was influential in undefeated Doylestown’s 41-5 win over Norfolk, logging three tries, while scrumhalf Samantha Tretter led Phoenixville in its 66-21 win over Chesapeake with four tries. See full results.
“We have a lot of returning players but we also have been playing around with positions and versatility, so there is a bit of a learning curve out there for some of us,” Doylestown captain Grayce Fjeld explained. “Our defense looked fairly good overall and our fullback, Cait Rycek, was able to stop just about everyone that broke the line.”
DIII Wilmington trailed York & Lancaster by only four points with seven minutes left in regulation, but then a scoring spree produced a 48-27 win to the Pennsylvania squad. Flanker Kelsey Miller and wing Colleen Herbert had multi-try days. Philadelphia led South Jersey until the 30th minute, and then a Jamie Lynn Fortuna penalty kick changed the lead for good. Outside center Jenelle Fuller scored four tries in the 34-21 win, while Philly’s Rebecca Silver accounted for 16 points. See full North results. In the South pool, Frederick and NOVA were tied 17-all at halftime, but the former pulled away with second-half tries from Morgan Howell, Alicia Wojcik and Lacy Ames, who also kicked the extras: 36-17 the final. See full South results.

MIDWEST

Men’s

Culminating a monumental effort that began in 2015, the Chicago Lions christened the new Jay “Tyke” Nollman Field at the Lions for Hope Sports Complex with three games on Saturday. The men’s DI side started the day by tripling cross-town rival, the Chicago Griffins, 39-13, and was followed by the women’s DI club tying Metropolis, 12-12. The DII squad finished the party with an unfortunate loss to Wisconsin on a penalty with no time left, 25-22.
The Lions’ victory moves them into second place of the men’s DI East division behind the Detroit Tradesmen, who crushed Columbus 54-12. In the West division, Metropolis and the Kansas City Blues stayed perfect with decisive wins over Columbus and Palmer. The match to watch this Saturday is battle for first as the Blues host Metropolis. The Minneapolis side has not lost to Kansas City since 2016 and the Blues are itching to prove themselves against the best of the division.
Wisconsin’s DII victory over the Lions keeps the Madison club undefeated joining Green Bay at the top of the West division. In the East, the Chicago Blaze is in first with a 32-24 win over Lincoln Park, the Cleveland Crusaders are in second with a forfeit against the South Side Irish, and the Pittsburgh Forge land in third after tying Indianapolis, 26-26.
Like last Saturday, the Midwest DIII was extremely busy with 22 games across five divisions. The highlights of the weekend were the Peoria Pigs’ and Fox Valley Maoris’ blowouts in the Chicago Area to stay undefeated; the Cleveland Crusaders, Cleveland Rovers, and Presque Isle Scallywags each scoring over 40 points in the East; the Omaha Goats defeating Des Moines 19-13 in Iowa; the St. Cloud Bottom Feeders and the St. Paul Jazz Pigs remain unbeaten with a pair of shutouts in Minnesota; Fort Wayne beating Michigan 100-0 in the North; the Columbus Castaways and Queen City win to stay perfect in the South; and Oconowomoc, Fond du Lac Wolfpac, and the Milwaukee Barbarians emerging victorious in Wisconsin.

Women’s

Metropolis and Chicago Lions are both 2-0-1 in Division I, playing to a 12-12 draw last Saturday. Defense featured in the first half, which nearly evolved without a score, until Stephanie Alliev broke free for a Valkyries try right before the half. Whitney Swenson converted for the 7-0 lead, and then approximately 10 minutes after the break, No. 8 Katherine Weber scored for a 12-0 edge. In the final 15 minutes, Devon Gold set up Rachel Grecky for a score and No. 8 Aurora Macek picked from the scrum for the second try. Kelley Hirt’s conversion was good, and there the game ended. On the other side of the bracket, Detroit beat Wisconsin 24-3.
Division II was all lopsided results. The three East Gold victors – Buffalo, North Buffalo and Pittsburgh Forge – outscored their opponents 185-10. East Green’s Fort Wayne beat Grand Rapids 38-7, while Columbus beat Dayton 74-5. In the West, Palmer College and Twin Cities combined to outscore the Chicago Sirens and Minneapolis Menagerie, respectively, 132-7. The closest game across the region occurred between Oconomowoc and County Will Morrigans: 29-5 to the Wisconsin side.
“We were very excited to come out of it with our first league match win in team history,” enthused Oconomowoc captain Katie McNeil. “We have been building all year for our first opportunity to play in the D2 league this season. … We are so proud of the way our ladies worked together as a team, and we are having a lot of fun playing rugby together.”

PACIFIC NORTHWEST

Men’s

The Pacific Northwest men’s DII began its season on Saturday. The Boise United crushed the ValleY Kangaroos, 95-7; however, the match between the Portland Pigs and the Eastside Tsunami was cancelled. DIII entered its third week of play and the Budd Bay Buffaloes, the Portland Pigs, the Eugene Stags and Boise United led the way this weekend with victories.

Women’s

In the Pacific Northwest GU, Bend picked up another win, defeating South Sound 29-10, and Eugene downed Boise United 60-3. Portland held ORSU to one score in its 29-5 win. See full results.

SOUTH

Men’s

With the other regions of the South not starting until next week, the True South men’s DIII began its fall season on Saturday. Chattanooga got the ball rolling with a 42-17 road win against the Nashville Grizzlies. The only other test was a rematch of last spring’s True South Championship Semifinal between Huntsville and the Memphis Blues. The Blues failed to defend its home turf as Huntsville exacted its revenge winning the opening match.

Women’s

For much of this DII Carolinas/Georgia GU game, Augusta and Charleston stayed win a single digit of each other. Augusta scrumhalf Owen Crosland was lethal for Augusta, accounting for 18 points (2T, 4C), and helping the Georgia side to a 33-27 win.

6 Pack Club Preview: September 21-22

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Men’s D1 – Mid-Atlantic: Rocky Gorge Rugby vs Baltimore-Chesapeake Brumbies
This matchup between Rocky Gorge and Baltimore-Chesapeake is great game to note due to the proximity of the clubs, and the great competitive effort that is spawned from it. Last week, Rocky Gorge was narrowly defeated in their opening season match against Schuylkill River Exiles, but a mere 2 points, and will be looking to bounce back and recover from the loss. This is a especially tough defeat so early in the season, because Rocky Gorge had not lost a single game in 2018/19 season until the finals against Life Running Eagles. This is a tough team, with a renewed since of motivation heading into week 2.
Head Coach of the Baltimore-Chesapeake Brumbies, Steve Elliot, had plenty of good things to note about the upcoming match. “The Rocky Gorge match is always circled on our calendars at the beginning of the season. First, because Gorge and BC are only 20 minutes apart, and second, because their club has become the standard in the union. We are always keen to measure our progress against a side that plays a precise and physical style of rugby, lead by MLR’s Old Glory captain Josh Brown.” Elliot added, “We are excited to have the chance to play them early in the year to see if the evolution of our playing style is on track. It will be very demanding from a physical sense as well as requiring sound execution and creativity. Our forward pack has traditionally been a strength and that continues this year. Our backs are quite young and quick but undersized when compared to Gorge. All in all, we are excited and optimistic about our chances.”
Women’s D2 – Mid-Atlantic: Doylestown Dragons vs Norfolk Storm
This women’s Mid-Atlantic clash will take place in Doylestown, PA with the Doylestown Dragons taking on the Norfolk Storm. This will be Norfolk’s first game of the season, and will be aiming in improving on last year’s successful 6-2 record. The Dragons are coming off a convincing win against Chesapeake Rugby, and will test their metal in a game where the clubs haven’t played each other in over a year.
Doylestown Dragons Head Coach Mary Merlo had this to say about her club and its progression. “The last time we played Norfolk, Spring 2018, we met halfway and played a tight, rough match with short numbers. Our team has changed a lot over the past 18 months, and in the absence of some long time vets, we’re taking the first two matches to test new talent coming up through the ranks.” Merlo also gave praise to a few of her standouts and players to watc, “Morgan Stifler (Bloomsburg) will be filling the boots of 15 year vet Kerryn Winiesky at scrumhalf. While 3 year captain Grayce Fjeld will be joining the dark side, transitioning from a 10 year career in the forwards to the open space of the centers. And you might just catch rookies Nikki Gonzalez and Katie (Baby Katie) Casey out on the wing filling in for vet Lisa Rake, sidelined with a broken finger last weekend. (Get well soon bud).
We are Looking forward to building more continuity and trust in the depth of our roster in the next match up against the Norfolk Storm at Fall Fest, a double header and club home opener this Saturday. Handshakes, brews and a pig with our pals to follow.”
Norfolk Storm head coach Bryan Dyer also chimed in regarding his club’s previous competitions with Norfolk, and his excitement towards this upcoming match. “We’re excited to make the 6-hour journey up to Doylestown this weekend, and it’s always a good battle between the clubs. Doylestown brings the competition we love to face, challenging us from set pieces to open play on the field. This will be our first taste of rugby for the season, since Hurricane Dorian postponed our first matrix match.“
Dyer continued, “Norfolk is home to the biggest Naval Station on the east coast, which brings civilians and military service members from all walks of life and rugby experience to us. Our demographic influences the dynamic of the team every season, and we never know who will come through our door and for how long. With plenty of new faces this season the team is excited to rebuild and train up the next wave of the Norfolk Storm.”
Women’s D2 – Midwest-West: Oconomowoc Rugby vs County Will Morrigans
Another women’s D2 matchup is highlighted because of all the great action the division has in store for all rugby fans and supporters, especially in the Midwest. Shoutout to all new clubs this season, along with those who have decided to jump up a division, like Oconomowoc has done currently.
The Oconomowoc RFC will be looking to improve on their last two defeats to start off their season, but club captain Katie McNeil has high hopes in her club’s ability against a tough County Will Morrigans side. McNeil states, “Oconomowoc is a new team in the Women’s D2 league this season. Every week we are looking forward to the opportunity to further develop our team as we progress through this fall season. We are a young team with our average player age at 22 years old, and many of our players are directly out of our Wisconsin High School Girl’s league. Our side has two players who also coach at the high school level, and our team takes pride in the fact that we are working hard to grow the game and provide opportunities for girls to continue to play rugby at a higher level. We have learned a lot in our first two weeks in league matches, and we are excited to host the Will County Morigans, a team that we have only played against once in our team history.“
County Will Morrigans club founder, Bridget Forsythe Hope, is also looking forward to their match against ORFC this weekend. Hope adds in, “The County Will Morrigans are counting down the days to step out on the pitch this Saturday against the Oconomowoc Rugby Club in Wisconsin. The Morrigans are on a quest to sample the finest WI cheese, ruck with the locals, and continue to bring a satisfying mix of “serious fun” to this D2 Conference. These passionate rugby players come in a wide range of ages, experience, and ability levels; they are looking forward to bringing their play book to life while also doing their best to throw their opponents’ plans off track. This group of good-looking Hooligans takes great pride in making rugby accessible to all women in the greater Will County and Chicago area.
She concludes with, “Their opponents would be wise not to underestimate them; for this team has been learning how to tuck and roll together for more than 15 years. While New Zealand may kick off their matches with a Haka, the Morrigans have their own pre-game tradition known as the ‘True star‘. Though most elements of this tradition are consistent, there remains some variations each time The True Star is performed. This beloved pre-game ritual allows players an opportunity to connect through both repetition and improvisation – a skill all rugby players know is invaluable come game time.“
Men’s D2 – Empire: New Haven Old Black vs Buffalo Rugby
The New Haven Old Black RFC has had a tough start to their 2019/20 campaign, by unfortunately dropping their first two games of the season. They are currently riding the momentum of being led by former (and newly reappointed) club founder, Bob Chester and are trying to work their way to the top of the table in the Northeast. New Haven is led by some young talent in the centers in Nik Griswold and Danny Holland, and Steve Cappello has taken on a leadership role in the front row working with the group of forwards. With a combination of young players and veterans, NHRFC looks to build on the first few weeks of the season and hit their stride at the right time.
Buffalo head coach, Jon Garbin, has rebutted his clubs prowess as last year’s top of the table champion, while continuing that momentum with two wins already this season. He mentions, “Our match-up with New Haven presents the first challenge of traveling to an opponent. The depth we’ve been fortunate to have in our past two games has been buoyed by having both our D2 and D3 sides at home. However, our mantra of ‘next man up’ or #HorsesInTheStable, as it came to be known as last year should allow us to put forth a strong side regardless of the circumstance. We last played New Haven in 2016 at home, so it will be exciting to play on their turf against, what will surely be a strong side and an exciting match, as we look to stay atop the table in the Empire GU.“
New Haven’s founder, Bob Chester, gave a shoutout to success of his club in present and past years, “Buffalo is always a tight team who do the basics very well. Many of their players come from the high school and collegiate programs coached by Buffalo old boys, and it has resulted in heaps of success over the years – it’s always a challenge to have them on our schedule.”
Men’s D3 – Midwest-Iowa: Iowa City Ducks vs Clinton Muddy River
Wrapping up the men’s sides this weekend is the Iowan D3 matchup, with Iowa City holding the last victory between the clubs’ last game in 2018. Clinton Muddy River RFC is looking rebound from last year’s season, and will be engaging their athletic and enthusiastic approach towards this tough Ducks club.
Clinton Muddy River’s President, Tyler Cozzolino, had this to say about their upcoming matchup, “This weekend we’re looking for our first win. We have a lot of youth and inexperience on the team but they are starting to step up and figure out what has to happen in game time situations. We feel like we match up well with Iowa City, and it’s our closest away game which always helps. The final score of our last two games doesn’t particularly show how we’ve been playing as a team, and we have a chance this weekend to show what who we really are. What we may lack in rugby knowledge at the moment, we certainly make up for with effort and athleticism.“
Iowa City’s Vice President, Tyler Dailey, had much praise for his club’s efforts and ability to overcome obstacles. He added, “Iowa City and Clinton are two historic teams in the state of Iowa who have managed to stay intact over the years. While both clubs continue to face adversity from player availability and numbers, you can be guaranteed our physical play on the field always makes for a great match-up and entertains the crowd every time we meet.”
Women’s D3 – NERFU: Seacoast vs South Shore Sirens
Concluding our 6 Pack Preview for this weekend, is a NEFRU divisional matchup that is welcoming newcomers, South Shore Sirens and their first home match for the competition. The side first gathered in the spring of 2018, as part of the South Shore Anchors RFC family, and were officially welcomed into the union in June 2019. They’ve took that momentum into the summer 7s season, earning 3rd and 1st place finishes in Newport and Boston, respectively. After strong attendance and high energy through pre-season 15s training, they dropped their first match against Amoskeag 59-7, but are determined to make their mark through the rest of the 2019 campaign.
South Shore Sirens Captain, Kelly Kryzak, had these inspiring words in reflection of her club, their play, and the positive effect the sport rugby has on its community, on the whole. “Being a leader of a new club has been challenging but also extremely rewarding. Every new player comes to us with a different rugby backgrounds and different obstacles they must face in their own life. Every week we come together for practices and games and suddenly we aren’t so different. We all share the same love for this sport and we work hard to achieve our goals as a team. I am so proud to be a Siren and proud to be a part of the South Shore Rugby community. Not only are we building a successful team, we are building a family of strong women who support each other on and off the field.”
Victoria Thomas, Sirens Forward and Anchors Community Outreach Officer, also chimed in on the club’s potential and future success. “We’ve been very fortunate to have a solid club behind us supporting us every step of the way. We genuinely wouldn’t be where we are today if it weren’t for the support and encouragement that we’ve received from the Anchors. They put us and our development and our team on the same level as they do theirs, and that alone has helped us grow exponentially in the last year.”

Club Rugby Review – Weekend Of September 14/15

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After a few weeks of initial matches, the fall men’s and women’s club rugby season began in earnest on Saturday with over 100 games in action in the Atlantic North, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and Frontier. New clubs made their marks, champions were upset, and contenders began their march to the throne.

Atlantic North (Men’s)

In American Rugby Premiership, two Atlantic North clubs traveled south to Georgia to meet the defending DI Champions and the development academy for the MLR’s Rugby ATL. The home teams won both matches as Life defeated Mystic River, 39-15, and 404 Rugby Atlanta crushed Old Blue, 45-6.
Up north in the NERFU, Worcester upset DII’s top squad, Newport, 21-0, and the Mystic Barbarians and South Shore remained undefeated with wins over Boston and Hartford. After making the move down from DII to DIII, Amoskeag and Albany look to be firing on all cylinders winning their first two matches. Charles River and Boston Maccabi continue to look strong also staying undefeated. Lastly, Upper Valley and Monadnock remain the only unbeaten teams in DIV as Upper Valley took down in-state rival, Freedom, in a close 24-20 match and Monadnock blanked Rutland, 74-0.
As for the Empire matches, DII’s Long Island rebounded from a big loss last week to hold off a late surge by New York Rugby Club to win 39-36 in the closet match of the day. The Buffalo Rugby Club and the Fairfield Yankees remained undefeated in the division and in a minor upset, Montclair Norsemen dropped New Haven, 27-10. Montclair is an ever-improving club and they showed that Saturday with a comprehensive win running in four tries while only conceding one.
All four regions of the Empire DIII saw action on Saturday as games were played in New York City, the Atlantic, New Jersey, and Upstate. In one of the fiercest clashes in NYC, Lansdowne RRC and the Village Lions scored four tries apiece as Lansdowne was better with the boot to win 29-26. An early season upset saw Greenwich outwork the defending Atlantic champions, Danbury, by a score of 41-31 and Suffolk drubbed White Plains 53-0. In New Jersey, Morris continued to be dominant beating Monmouth, 33-7, and Bayonne kept pace by beating Princeton AC, 27-12. Upstate results saw Syracuse, the Rochester Aardvarks, and KenTon win by large margins and Buffalo stayed undefeated with a 44-21 victory over the Genesee Creamers.
In Empire DIV, Queens Rugby Club got its first win beating the Gotham Knights, 29-12, NYRC overpowered Long Island, 41-19, and Union County eked out a 14-12 win over the Fairfield Yankees, 14-12.

Atlantic North (Women’s)

South Jersey got its second win of the Mid-Atlantic North season, defeating York & Lancaster 41-5. Outside center Jenelle Fuller scored four tries on the day, while hooker Julianne Warner, and No. 8 Gabriella Wood also contributed tries. Fullback Jamie Lynn Fortuna kicked the conversions.
In New England, both victors won by large margins: North Shore topped Seacoast 56-5, and Amoskeag beat South Shore 59-7.

Mid-Atlantic (Men’s)

The second week of DI play saw both teams who played in the conference championship fall. Schuylkill River captured their first ever victory over MAC champion Rocky Gorge with a 27-25 last second win. Ben Janssen scored in the corner with no time left and captain Brian Keown nailed the conversion from sideline. The Norfolk Blues started their fall with a bang by beating NOVA, 34-28, and Baltimore-Chesapeake and Potomac picked up their first Ws of the season.
With DII not starting until next weekend, DIII was active with a full slate. Severn River, Rocky Gorge, and the Washington Irish remained perfect in the Central and the Washington Renegades notched their first win by beating NOVA, 17-10. In the opening weekend of the south, Rappahannock, Virginia Beach, and Roanoke won while the Northeast Philadelphia Irish, Media, Delmarva, Schuylkill River, Wilkes-Barre, Reading, and Lehigh Valley were victorious in the EPRU. The game to watch this Saturday is Media versus NE Irish as both clubs impressed last season with undefeated records and it should be a smashing match.
In DIV, Phoenixville White Horse almost shutout the Baltimore Flamingos, 60-5, and the Patuxent Lions’ Michael Morgan scored in the 76th minute for the 29-24 win over the Washington Renegades.

Mid-Atlantic (Women’s)

In the Mid-Atlantic, Doylestown beat Chesapeake 46-0, and 2018 national finalist Harrisburg held off James River in a 19-12 contest. The Harlots have seen player turnover since nationals and new, young captains were ushering in a new attack system. James River brought a full, hard-hitting roster to the game and took a 12-7 halftime lead
“[B]y the second half, we had brushed off the cobwebs and started executing our attack successfully,” Harrisburg veteran Courtney Reapsome explained. “Harrisburg’s defense was successful in creating pressure that lead to James River knock-ons, and Harrisburg dominated in lineouts and scrums, winning their own set pieces and strongly contesting and even stealing James River ball.”
Wing Nicole Ciccarelli scored Harrisburg’s three tries, and flyhalf Lauren Shissler, “who created great turnover/poached ball at the breakdown,” per Reapsome, kicked the extras.
In the Empire GU, Morris beat Union 79-0, and Monmouth defeated Danbury 31-3. Of the New England GU matches, two were close: Hartford’s 33-28 victory over Portland, and Providence’s 13-12 win over Albany. Providence had the first-half momentum but a stout Albany defense held up multiple dive-over attempts and limited Providence to an Anne Venner dropgoal. The Sirens took control in the second half and put down two tries for a 12-3 lead that held until the final 10 minutes of the match.
“We have a really good scrumhalf, [Tiffany] McCoy, who dictates our game and does a really good job of looking at the field and seeing where the play is going and moving people,” Providence captain Tiara Mack said. “We had a couple of injuries – our prop and hooker – in the first half … so our tempo was off a little bit in the second half. But in the last 10 minutes we got into a groove.”
With eight minutes to go, Naz Cardoso and Melissa Keene scored tries, and Ashley Hanson’s conversion afforded the one-point win. Worcester, which beat Charles River 38-12, currently leads the standings at 2-0.

Frontier (Men’s)

In the third week of the Rocky Mountain Rugby Eastern Rockies Cup, an early season tournament between DII and DIII clubs, Boulder grabbed their second W with a 37-point victory over the Queen City Rams, 59-22, and the Denver Highlanders added to their win total with a 35-26 triumph against last year’s Eastern Rockies Cup runner-up, the Colorado Springs Grizzlies. The competition will take a break until October 5 when Colorado Springs takes on the Denver Barbarians and the Denver Misfits host the Laramie Lumberjacks.
Speaking of Laramie, the Lumberjacks rebounded from a difficult loss last month to nearly double up Marauders Rugby, 63-35. Laramie should be a team to watch as it features former USA Falcon Cody Jerabek and several Wyoming Cowboys alumni from a period where Wyoming was one of the strongest teams in the nation.
The second Saturday of the Rocky Mountain Rugby Challenge League saw two high-scoring affairs as Boulder scored 12 tries to knock off Queen City, 74-43, and the Denver Highlanders cracked Colorado Springs, 58-19. The results from the weekend are a good reflection of the depth and parity in the competition.

Frontier (Women’s)

In the Frontier, Kansas City Jazz beat Boulder 80-5. Lauren Kuklenski led all scorers (2T, 10C) and Amanda Hull touched down four tries. Kansas City Jazz beat Boulder 80-5, and Lauren Kuklenski led all scorers (2T, 10C) in Kansas City Jazz’s 80-5 win over Boulder. Amanda Hull led try-scorers with four.
On Sept. 28, the DI East will kick off its league play, and the new DI Texas/Frontier will return to action (Glendale won the only game thus far 61-19 against Denver Black Ice) the same

Midwest (Men’s)

As the Midwest entered its third weekend of play, the summer rust is off and many teams are flexing their muscles. In DI, each winning team scored over 30 points as the Chicago Lions, Chicago Griffins, Metropolis, and the Kansas City Blues outworked their opponents on Saturday. Metropolis and the Blues are now undefeated atop the west division and Lions and Griffins move to 2-1 and 1-2, respectively, in the east. The cross-town Chicago rivalry is renewed again this coming weekend as the Lions host the Griffins on Saturday.
In DII, the Green Bay Celtics and Wisconsin improved to 2-0 in the west while the Pittsburgh Forge remains the only undefeated team in the east. With wins over the Indianapolis Impalas and the South Side Irish, the Cleveland Crusaders and Chicago Blaze kept pace with the Forge and Milwaukee gutted out a 39-36 win over the Chicago Lions to pull to 1-1.
It was a party in DIII as 24 games were played in seven regions. In Chicago, CRC, the Northwest Woodsmen, the Chicago Riot, and the Lake County Gladiators each routed their competition and the Pittsburgh Forge, Akron, and the Cleveland Crusaders remained perfect in the east. The Crusaders were challenged the hardest as the Rovers were in the lead until the final play where Ryan Sands scored and David DiFrancesco booted the 33-32 game-winner.
The Bremer County Bucks pushed their record to 3-0 with a big win over Clinton Muddy River in DIII Iowa and Metropolis, Sioux Falls Crow, and the St. Cloud Bottom Feeders won in Minnesota. Up in the North, the Kalamazoo Dogs, Fort Wayne, the Tri-City Barbarians, and Traverse Bay Blues blew out their opponents and Louisville, Columbus, Queen City, and White River won in the South. Lastly, Oconomowoc Rugby demolished Fox City, 53-5, and the Oshkosh Pigs outlasted the Milwaukee Black and Blue, 31-24, in the Wisconsin region.
In DIV Buckeye, the Lancaster Men of Stone and the Columbus Castaways earned their first wins and the Westside Outcasts remained unbeaten via forfeit. Out in the Central division, the Chicago Blaze tamed the Kenosha Mammoths, 73-0 and Indianapolis blanked the Sliverbacks, 24-0, while in the Iowa division, Des Moines beat Iowa Falls, 34-12, and Cedar Rapids toughed out a 32-27 win over River City.

Midwest (Women’s)

The Midwest has been playing games since Aug. 17 and teams like Wisconsin already have five league matches behind it. Last weekend carried a ton of anticipation as 3-0 Chicago took on DI newcomer Chicago Lions for the teams’ first Windy City showdown.
“Absolutely, there was pressure to perform,” Chicago Lions head coach Bruce Snyder asserted. “Chicago Women were just coming off solid victories over Detroit and Wisconsin. They have an athletic, experienced team, so our focus was to build a basic foundation. We focused on the go-forward and basics of ball carry into contact. That set the stage for everything else.”
Lions wing Devon Gold scored the first of three tries approximately five minutes in and kicked off a 58-point run. Chicago flyhalf Sarah Anderson snapped the shutout with a penalty goal near the 60th minute. By game’s end, Megan Loomis (3), Rachel Grecky, Benny Hershik, Kelley Hirt, Katherine Lohaus and Jillian Stariha scored tries. Scrumhalf Aleia Bellcross kicked all but one of the conversions.
“We have a big match against Metro this weekend, which is also the first weekend at our new pitch, the J. Tyke Nollman field at the Lions for Hope Sports Complex,” Snyder added. “We hope to continue this momentum into that match.”
In other games in the Midwest, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Grand Rapids and Milwaukee Scylla won their respective matches, with the closest margin of victory, 36-32, occurring between the Michigan team and Dayton. In the Pacific Northwest, Bend, Tacoma and Emerald City beat their respective opponents by more than 40 points.

6 Pack Club Preview

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The 6 Pack Club Preview has returned for the 2019/20 seasons, choosing 6 matchups across all Men’s & Women’s Club Leagues, Conferences, and Divisions. Heading into the weekend of the 14th/15th of September, there are some very exciting matches taking place in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and New England Regions. Buckle up folks, because this year of club competition will be as fierce as ever, with much of the competition atmosphere and layout remaining similar to last year. Here to present the first 6 Pack Club preview of the year are the following teams and regions:

Women’s D1 – Midwest: Chicago Lions v Chicago Rugby

Chicago Rugby has started their 2019 Fall campaign with a streaking hot 3-0 record, and will be taking on the D1 newcomers, and city rivals, Chicago Lions. The Lions have historically been a solid side never to be reckoned with and with the overall Chicago atmosphere of Women’s competition heating up with the WPL North Shore side, there will be plenty of great talent and matchups to be seen throughout this division for years to come. Coach Bruce Snyder of the Lions is extremely excited for this upcoming crosstown matchup and weighs in.
“This match represents a great restart to our season. We’ve had the last three weekends off and are now heading into a seven week stretch where we will be playing every weekend. Our players have worked hard to learn and build their skills, and everyone is excited to apply what we’ve been working on.
I have no doubly this weekend will set the tone for the rest of the Fall season.” Snyder adds, “We look forward to hosting Chicago Women this weekend and to having a highly competitive contest with them. They were our final friendly in the Spring, and we were able to gain a lot of experience from that match.” Check this box for our Matchup of the Week, because there is sure to be end of summer fireworks in the Windy City.

Men’s D1 – Midwest: Palmer College Dragons vs Kansas City Blues

Men’s Division 1 is ready to blast off with a great matchup between these two determined clubs. Last year, KC had taken both matches when the two clubs faced off, but Palmer is excited about the opportunity to give the Blues a taste of their own medicine. Head coach for Palmer College, Giovanni Frapporti is especially enthusiastic in his club’s potential this year, along with the division as a whole.
He states, “Kansas City has always been a solid team to play against with a roster rich in experienced players that know how to play properly. On our side, 100% of our players are students at Palmer College of Chiropractic.” Frapporti also mentions the obstacles and determination his team faces, “Going through the chiropractic program and rugby is not easy at all but I am very proud of the work they put in at every practice. We have a great group of skilled players but most importantly a solid group of friends. Where technique is missing we put our hearts in. This Saturday is going to be the first wall to walk through in order to achieve the goals we have set at the beginning of the season. It doesn’t really matter with which roster they’ll come with in Davenport this weekend, we will be ready to play our best rugby.”
The perennial powerhouse Kansas City Blues side is looking forward to their Fall campaign, and will be taking their preparation for every team across the board on their schedule seriously. Looking to improve on their 3-5 record from previous season, Head coach James Paterson chimes in on the clubs present focus,
“The last 12 months the Kansas City Blues have gone through a rebuilding phase introducing a new system and staff. The spring season this year was a big improvement over the fall of 18 and we expect continued gains as we improve our core skill set and player depth.” Paterson continues, “This weekend will be a good barometer of where we are at. Palmer the last couple years have finished at the top end of the conference. They play a good brand of rugby, have an excellent set piece and are very physical. We look forward to playing this weekend and showcasing some exciting new talent coming out of the Kansas City Blues Rugby Program.”

Women’s D2 – New England: Albany Knicks vs Providence Rugby

The Albany Sirens are coming off an unsatisfying 2018/19 campaign, with high hopes of trending upward toward Division 2 stardom and success. Coming off an unfortunate loss vs Worcester Shamrocks, the Sirens captains (Mel Weils and Camila Osses) along with head coach (Lori Staples) have encouraging words for continuing their pathway against the Providence side.
“[We] are going into this game head-strong in order to play against an opponent that shares the same intense dedication to the sport” says Weils. “We are familiar with each other’s style, and have had the opportunity to face off in past 15s and 7s games where we are competing to the nail-biting end.
The competition is fierce and [we] are looking forward to a fast-paced and creative game against Providence.”, concludes Osses. Head coach Lori Staples mentions, “Providence and ourselves have been closely matched for years in terms of our style-of-play, team composition and competitiveness. We last played Providence in the 2017-18 season and split our home and away series back then.” Looking to shake off a disappointing road loss to Worcester, Staples adds, “We’ve had a lot of turnover on our squad since we last played Providence in 15s so I’m looking forward to seeing how our new players take on the challenge of this exciting rivalry.”

Men’s D2 – Midwest: Indianapolis Impalas vs Cleveland Crusaders

One of the top matchups of the week is the Midwest showdown between the Impalas & Crusaders. Both of these teams finished second in their respective regions, but now have found each other fighting for supremacy within the same conference. The Impalas were known to have a high-powered attacking presence throughout all 80 minutes, with impressive athletes commanding both the forward pack and backline. This matchup will be a great determinant to showcase which team has more grit and capability of withstanding a grueling test match.
“We have an incredibly tough matchup this weekend, as we travel to an always tough Indianapolis Impalas team.”, says Cleveland president, Terry Kilbane. “As the reigning Midwest Champs, we know that we are going to get everybody’s best shot, and there are no easy Saturdays on the schedule this year. We will win or lose this game on our defense and ability to work together within our structures. We believe we have a very talented group, capable of great things, but first things first, we have to perform on Saturday.”
Although the Impalas show fine potential, the Crusaders are not a team to sleep on. Their incredibly impressive Fall 2018 campaign sent tons of momentum into spring. Even though the Spring 2019 schedule did not pan out as they had planned, the fire has been burning in the belly of this strong Cleveland side. Their last week’s close loss to Pittsburgh Force, 12-15, was a nail-biter to the end, but the club is sure of amending their mistakes and errors coming this weekend in Indianapolis.

Women’s D3 – Mid-Atlantic: York & Landcaster Thorns vs South Jersey Devils

The York & Landcaster Thorns are yet to begin their divisional play this 2019 campaign, and are hungry to avenge their previous sub-.500 season. York & Landcaster are looking to be ‘Thorns’ in the side of their divisional rival, South Jersey Devils this upcoming weekend. The Devils however, are divisional championship defenders and will not be a club to roll-over to the determined York & Landcaster side.
Head coach Chris Kevenaar of South Jersey not only is looking to retain a successful tradition, but also has other priorities this season, “Coming off a championship season we have some rebuilding to do after losing eight starters and three subs to injury and relocation. Rookies are stepping up and returning players are diving into new roles. In our first away game of the year against a very physical Lancaster side and a particularly cheeky flyhalf.” Kevenaar mentions the keys to their success as, “We are looking to contain on defense and force turnover ball to create offensive opportunity. On the offensive side, we are preparing to come out with stability, ball control, and to hit good lines.”

Men’s D3 – Mid-Atlantic: Philadelphia Gryphons vs Northeast Philadelphia Irish

Another crosstown matchup this weekend includes the city of Brotherly Love, aka Philadelphia. This match is expected to go down exactly like a brotherly contest would go, with plenty of hard hits and intensity. The Northeast Philadelphia Irish had bolstered an outstanding season in 2018/19 going without a loss, unfortunately until the final game of the season where they had lost to Grand Rapids. We expect this game to include lots of tries, a few cheeky scuffs, and plenty of fun play.
The head coach for the Gryphons, Phil Egner, has some color commentary on his expectations for this game, the season, and the “game after the game”. Egner states, “We are looking forward to our game against NE-Irish this week. It will be a great opportunity for the Gryphons to test their defensive & attack systems and build some momentum into this new season.” He continues with, “Appreciating that NEI had an excellent record last year and having suffered a heavy loss to them at the beginning of last season – we eagerly accept the tough challenge ahead of us. The fresh blood (recruits) has brought a lot of energy and creativity into the squad. The coaches and supporters are very excited for this new generation of Gryphons to take the home field and play some quality, running rugby. The Gryphon’s strive to provide a friendly, inclusive, safe and positive environment to learn & enjoy rugby. Regardless of the final score – we are sure to have a fantastic day of competitive rugby followed by fun, friendship and free ‘soda’ at the Gryphon’s renowned drink-ups!”
Regardless of the final score – we are sure to have a fantastic day of competitive rugby followed by fun, friendship and free ‘soda’ at the Gryphon’s renowned drink-ups!”