Brown
In an exciting matchup over the weekend, the Penn State Women faced Brown Rugby. The game unfolded as a tale of two halves. Penn State lead at halftime, 5-10 but ultimately dropped the game 31-17.
The first half showcased Penn State's tenacious defense and excellent lineout attack. Both tries came from Junior Hooker, Amber Bigler, sneaking around the side of a lineout maul to score in the corner. However, in the second half, Brown Rugby made a strong comeback. Brown scored four tries by exploiting defensive gaps on Penn States edges.
In a spirited effort to close out the game, Penn State managed one last score at the whistle. A linebreak by Junior Backrow, Keelin McNicholas brought Penn State to the 5 meter line and Senior Second Row, Tara Forde, capped off a pick 'n go attack by the forwards. Senior Fullback, Miranda Heffelfinger converted bringing the final score to 31-17 in favor of Brown. Despite the loss, Penn State's first-half performance and never-give-up attitude throughout the game showcased their resilience and potential for future success.
Providence College
In a thrilling match between Penn State Rugby and Providence College, the spotlight was on the team's brand new to rugby players in their first full game, and they didn't disappoint.
Providence College opted to kick for points early and took an initial 3-0 lead. Penn State was quick to respond; Freshmen Wing, Paris Stern scored in her debut and gave Penn State a 5-3 lead. The lead continued to see-saw between the two teams. Penn State was up 5 points 15-10 with tries from Paris Stern and Freshmen Prop, Sonja Wharton for a short while but Providence College entered half time ahead 21-15.
As the second half began, Providence extended their lead. However, Freshmen Wing, Aubrey Colo scored and narrowed the gap to 26-20. Providence continued to challenge and were up 13 points with 10 minutes left in the game. Penn State showed incredible resilience. Senior Prop, Frankie Soto had an excellent chase and pressure on the kick-off which led to a turnover and a try by Freshmen Flyhalf, Danielle Deer. With six minutes remaining Penn State was still 8 pts down. Danielle Deer once again broke the line. Excellent ball movement from the linebreak found Sophomore Center, Katie Mahoney's hands, who offloaded back to Danielle Deer. Deer ultimately scored in the center, the try was converted and Penn State was down by 1 with 3 minutes to go.
Penn State won a crucial penalty as time ticked down. The team played quickly and found Danielle Deer's hands once again. Danielle broke the line one last time and had the speed to finish and scored what the team thought was the game winning try. The ref determined there was time for one more play. In dramatic fashion, a botched kick to touch by Penn State set up a foot race between Providence's wing and PSU's wing Paris Stern. Paris gathered the kick and sealed Penn State's win 44-33.
Upcoming Match and a Special Memorial
Penn State is at home this Saturday October 21st against against Army. The match will kick off at 1pm.
This weekends game against Army will hold special significance and is dedicated to celebrating the life and memory of Alex Weisser, a recent Penn State Rugby Alumnae and Assistant Coach who tragically passed away in late May.
Penn State Rugby extends an invitation to all of Alex's teammates and anyone wishing to commemorate her life to attend the game this weekend. Following Army's departure we will gather at center field to share memories, stories or momentos of Alex's life. We also invite everyone to participate in a chocolate chip cookie bakeoff! Many of us were fortunate to receive cookies from Alex as a thank you, a pick me up or just to show she cared. Please bring your best imitation of Alex's chocolate chip cookies to share!