It was a big weekend in club rugby as a new WPL champion was crowned and playoffs in the Atlantic North and Midwest are setting up thrilling finales. With the fall season coming to a close, teams are giving their lasting shots to build towards National title runs in the spring while others are just starting.
ATLANTIC NORTH
Men's
Searching for its first win of the fall, Old Blue trekked north to Malden, Mass. to take on Mystic River. On a two-game winning streak, Mystic is riding high but the game was extremely close with the lead changing hands seven times. In the final minutes of the contest, Mystic’s Christian Adams was the hero once again with the dagger try in 78th minute for the 27-25 win.
In the semifinals of the Empire DII, the top two seeded teams, White Plains and Buffalo, advanced to the regional championship. #1 White Plains survived a serious comeback attempt from #4 New York to grind out a 31-26 win and #2 Buffalo’s defense showed its mettle versus a tough #3 Fairfield Yankees squad that ended in a 15-5 defensive struggle. For the final, Buffalo travels to White Plains on November 9.
White Plains was up 17-0 at the half, but it was Giorgi Maisuradze’s try in the 72nd minute that proved to be the game-winner. “We always know when we play New York, it’s going to be a tough game,” ,White Plains Director of Rugby Andrew Britt stated. “Even though we were up 17-0 at the half, I told the boys to expect a fight in the second half and of course it did… We understand that these games will come down to that last 75th or 80th minute that you might win or lose it. It was that tenacity to keep on going and our defense stayed strong in those last few minutes to hold them out.”
Up north for the New England DIII Championship, it was #1 against #2 as the Boston Maccabi hosted Amoskeag in Cambridge, MA. Amoskeag took the early 14-0 lead and extended it to 19-7 at the half. Boston amped up its game and made it interesting in the second half. With about ten minutes left, Amoskeag punctuated its advantage with a 35-meter bulldozing run by Ben Andwood for a try under the posts. Boston scored once again and the remaining time consisted of an all-out brawl for possession. The Amoskeag defense stood tall and held for the 38-31 win.
“The biggest keys to the game were the set pieces and backline play,” Amoskeag’s Alex Gatzoulis said. “Amoskeag’s scrum was pretty forceful, stealing a couple of possessions, and effectively wore their forwards down. Maccabi’s strength was in their backline and the Amoskeag back three were able to neutralize their 15 (Jordan Anderson), who is an All-American runner and one of their top players.”
In the semifinals of the Empire DIII, the lower seeds once again knocked off their opponents as #8 Lansdowne ran over #4 Greenwich, 44-5, and #7 Old Blue nipped #6 Morris, 19-18, scoring the winning try in the waning moments of the second half. The championship will be back at Old Blue where the teams’ September match concluded in a 27-27 draw.
Lansdowne’s captain Dominic Sofe summed up the victory saying, “We just needed to make sure we play simple rugby and let the boys enjoy the playoff rounds. [In the final,] nothing to change this week, keep doing what we have been doing over the past weeks and looking forward to a rematch with Old Blue.”
Defense, composure, and playing within the system were keys to Old Blue’s win over Morris. “The boys rose to the occasion and fronted up defensively, especially with some big plays in the second half,” Old Blue captain Raphael Henriquez said. “[We] remembered to keep our composure. Things can get a bit chaotic out there on the pitch but when we feel under the pump, we always revert back to reminding ourselves to remain calm and collected… The last major key point for Saturday's victory was playing our system but also thinking outside the box. We kept to our system at key moments, which opened up our signature free-flowing style of play.”
Lastly in the Empire DIV semifinals, Rockaway continued to be the class of the division as it hammered Queens 59-0 and the previously undefeated North Jersey club lost to the Rochester Aardvarks, 31-19. The Aardvarks travel to Rockaway for the final hoping to continue their winning ways.
“Rochester's keys to victory were minimizing mistakes and utilizing our fitness in the second half,” Joe Kirsch said. “We came back from a 19-7 deficit in the second half. We had a big game from Andy Thistle, our jumper who dominated the lineout. Gage Fleming and Luke Trippi both had high tackle counts. Christophe Simpson started our scoring from the wing.”
Women's
The top-four teams traveled to Worcester, Mass., for the DII New England championship last weekend. In the semifinals, reigning champion Providence beat Albany 32-5, and host Worcester posted a 35-5 victory on Portland. That set up a rematch of the 2018 Atlantic North final, as well as one of the closest league games this fall: a 14-10 decision to Providence in mid-October. Sunday’s final was similarly tense, but Providence held onto the trophy with a 15-5 win over Worcester.
“This week showcased our best defense that many Providence players new and old have seen from the team,” Providence captain Tiara Mack noted. “Our small size often leads others to underestimate what we can do against bigger teams. Both days featured big hits from the Providence team and our defense was almost impenetrable, allowing only two tries over the championship weekend.
“It was all heart from every player,” Mack added. “We finally had a bench of players going into the weekend and we were able to get everyone playing time.” Both Providence and Worcester advance to the springtime playoffs against their Empire counterparts.
Empire wrapped up its final week of league play and ended with its share of drama. Some of it was seen in the results – Monmouth held off Brooklyn 22-21, and Union edged Uticuse 18-15 – and some of it played out in the post-season plans. The Village Lions and Morris, which finished in the top half of the standings, were ruled ineligible for playoffs, and thus Uticuse and Danbury, both 3-5, will advance in their stead.
Morris was idle last weekend, but the Lions closed out the fall with an 83-0 win over Danbury. Lock Michelle Dimitri (2), flyhalf Vicky Dushku (4), No. 8 Adriana Castillo (2) and wing Caitlin Davis (2) scored multiple tries apiece, while fullback Stephanie Ruys de Perez led all scorers with 23 points on nine conversions and a try.
This weekend, #1 Monmouth will host #4 Danbury, and #2 Brooklyn will host #3 Uticuse in the GU semifinals. The winners will contest the championship on Nov. 16, and the two finalists will advance to the Atlantic North semifinals in the spring.
FRONTIER
Men's
Out in the Rocky Mountains, the only men's match scheduled, Northern Colorado at Laramie, was snowed out. The Rockies wraps up the fall season on Saturday with the Eastern Rockies Cup finals between Colorado Springs Grizzlies and the Queen City Rams.
In Mid-America, the St. Louis Bombers and Metropolis were locked in a tough match where the Bombers lost the lead in the last minutes and fell to Metropolis, 38-37. In DII, Kansas City earned its second win of the year with a 93-17 defeat of Tulsa and the Kansas City Blues thumped Springfield, 45-20, in DIII.
EAST
Women's
It was another full slate in the DI East, and two of the three decisions came down to single digits. Philadelphia capped a three-game winning streak with a 27-24 win over Charlotte, which has lost its two games by a combined four points. Philly took the first lead through Olivia Rasp but then back-to-back scores from Elizabeth Scott and Amanda Watkins put the visitors ahead (10-5). Philly rallied in the second 20, and two scores from No. 8 Lucy Dawson and another from Rasp, plus Kate Hallinan’s conversion, provided a 22-10 lead into the break.
Philadelphia enjoyed its largest lead of the game, 27-10, after Rebecca Silver scored in the 53rd minute, and then it was time for Charlotte’s comeback. Erin Satterfield and Shannon Etherson scored within minutes of each other, and Jen Moser’s two conversions made it 27-24 with the entire fourth quarter to play. Philly held on nonetheless for the win, while Charlotte earned two bonus points in the near loss.
“After a disappointing start to the fall season, we took a step back and assessed what we needed to keep in place and what we needed to move away from. We ultimately decided to step away from a stricter system and move into a more dynamic style of play that allows more movement between the forwards and backs, which has opened up a lot of options and created more opportunities for all 15 to work as one cohesive unit – plus it's been really fun,” Philadelphia captain Becca Fagan reviewed the fall. “We knew we were moving in the right direction when we fell just a bit short against NOVA and we've been improving every week since. With some of the best competition in the D1 East Division, it has been extremely motivating and encouraging to see success with the new system and we'll be carrying that with us into the spring season.”
Both of Atlanta’s senior sides – WPL and DI – were in motion last weekend, with the former finishing fourth in the nation and the latter banking a 31-27 win over visiting Boston. Both DI teams are now 2-3.
There were multiple, quick lead changes, but Atlanta enjoyed the edge for the majority of the game. Both teams spread out their scores: Akilah Guzman, Megan Steffes, Laketa Sutton, Dominique Purifoy, Sheree Collins dotted down for Atlanta, while Jillian Casey added three conversions; and Emma Santosuosso, Isabel Haber, Margaret Reiss and Italia Ieraci crossed for Boston. The visitors ended with a penalty try in the 79th minute and that afforded an extra bonus point in the close defeat.
The D.C. Furies opened up its game against NOVA with a Katherine Hanson try and Sam Moorhead conversion, but then the reigning DI national champion tightened up and ran out to a 39-7 win. Emily Fulbrook, Kayla Cook, Ariel Johnson, Stephanie Barros and Emily Wessel accounted for the tries, while Bri Kim kicked 14 points on two penalties and four conversions. The league now hibernates until mid-March 2020.
MID-ATLANTIC
Men's
The Capital Rugby Union’s Game of the Week pitted the Washington Irish at the Potomac Exiles. In the “Battle of the Beltway”, Potomac finished its DI fall season on a two-game winning streak by scoring seven tries en route to 38-24 win. In other action in the Mid-Atlantic, Rocky Gorge avenged its season-opening loss to Schuylkill River by scoring 24 unanswered points in the second half for the 34-28 triumph and Northern Virginia held off a determined Norfolk Blues side in a tight 23-14 affair.
Men’s DII saw another weekend of cross-divisional matchups for the Capital and the Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union. The EPRU were 3-1 in this round as North Penn cracked Virginia 58-14, the Roses dotted the ball down nine times in its 55-35 win over James River, and Philadelphia-Whitemarsh edged Richmond 25-17. The Capital’s lone victory was Washington’s 39-37 upset of Old Gaelic. The teams traded blows and the lead throughout the match. It wasn’t until the 75th minute that Washington went ahead for good via a Thomas Demetriou try and an all-important conversion from Ray Gajkowski.
DIII’s penultimate fall weekend featured wins by Rocky Gorge, West Potomac, North Bay, and NOVA in the Central; Brandywine, Media, Blackthorn, Lehigh Valley, Reading, and the Hibernians in the North; and Roanoke in the South. The biggest result on Saturday was Lehigh Valley’s 25-12 upset defeat of the unbeaten Northeast Philadelphia Irish.
Lastly in DIV, North Bay beat the Washington Renegades 31-21, Severn River forfeited to West Potomac, and Wilmington crushed the Baltimore Flamingos 71-0.
Women's
Last weekend saw the two undefeated DII teams – Harrisburg and Doylestown – meet in the final week of the fall portion of the season. Doylestown pounced on an early yellow card and took a two-try lead. The Harlots answered through Nikki Snyder and Nicole Ciccarelli (12-10 with Lauren Shissler’s conversion), and then Doylestown engineered one more lead change with a third try, 15-12.
Shissler scored and converted in the 36th minute and those points put Harrisburg ahead for good. Snyder, Ciccarelli, Shissler, Alesa Tare and Michelle Kirk (2) crossed for tries, while Shissler ended the day with six conversions in the 55-27 win.
The closest game came down to James River and Northeast Philadelphia and featured two very different halves. Northeast Philly ran out to a 24-0 lead as Kelsi Beahm and Hannah Braztler scored two tries apiece and Sarah Kofoed kicked the extras. James River then launched into comeback mode and was rewarded with tries through Kristen Lucas, Kathryn Hobbs, Emily Lawson and Lucy Kilgore. With Victoria Byrd’s conversions, the teams were knotted at 24 with 20 minutes to play. In the final 10 minutes, outside center Hobbs crossed for the game-breaker, and the Byrd conversion made it 31-24 to the Virginia side.
Norfolk picked up its second win of the season with a 57-7 victory over Chesapeake. Fullback Shannon Hubbard led all point-scorers with 27 points on three tries and six conversions.
MIDWEST
Men's
The last weekend of the Midwest Rugby Premiership saw the top sides lock up their bids to the DI final. The Chicago Lions blew out Columbus 91-14 on their way to eclipsing Detroit for the East entrance, while the Kansas City Blues capped its undefeated 8-0 record with a 13-7 win against Palmer. The Lions and the Blues will square off on Saturday at the Chicago Blaze’s field for the DI championship.
The Chicago Lions’ head coach Dave Clancy said, “the keys to the season were having a squad of guys who have developed with us over several years and a club structure set up to survive the MLR effect. To beat the Blues, we need to play our game, do the basics well as we have all season, use our experience as a squad, albeit a young one, and play as a team.”
On the other side, Blues’ head coach James Paterson wrapped up his fall saying, “Collectively, we have been trending the right direction. From a 3-5 season last fall to a 5-1 in the spring and now undefeated in the league, I am very proud of the boys and all of the support staff in the club that makes this possible. The Lions will be a very tough match and we look forward to the challenge… Next week, our biggest task is matching up to the Lions up front at the set piece. We look forward to and appreciate the opportunity to play together as a group another weekend.”
In the Eastern and Western Conference DII finals, the Pittsburgh Forge defeated the Cleveland Crusaders for a third time this season, 24-15, in the East and Wisconsin took home the West title beating Green Bay, 39-15. Both clubs are undefeated this season and the final will be a rematch of last season’s semifinal match. With a spot to Nationals at risk this Saturday at the Midwest Championships in Lemont, IL, both teams will battle to keep records perfect and continue on the road to postseason glory.
This is Pittsburgh’s first trip to the Midwest Championships in its second postseason since the merger between the Pittsburgh Rugby Club and the Pittsburgh Highlanders. “The key to victory [against Cleveland] was discipline and defense,” Forge’s captain Rousseau Kluever said. “Cleveland is a strong attacking outfit that plays smart rugby. They can vary their approach mid-game. If you make a mistake, they will take advantage of you as they are clinical at set pieces and they can kick at goal from nearly anywhere. So limiting our infringements was crucial.”
Wisconsin is no stranger to the postseason and knows how to win a National Championship. “Our strength has been sticking to our game plan and keeping a structured methodical attack,” player/coach AJ Andolino said. “Evan Albeck has been our new breakout star this year from Chicago. Many veterans such as Miles Jobke and Phil Winkler have stepped up to fill crucial roles.”
It was a full weekend in DIII as a field of eight was whittled down to two as Queen City won the East, and Fox Valley emerged from the West. Saturday’s action saw Akron blank Columbus, 39-0, St. Paul cut down Oconomowoc, 17-12, Queen City edge Grand Rapids, 34-32, and second-half try from Zach Potter and conversion from Pat Sullivan was just enough for Fox Valley to beat Bremer County and the elements, 7-5.
In the East final that included 14 tries, Queen City won in a horse race against Akron, 46-38. Queen City led the entire way, but Akron wouldn’t quit. “The keys to victory this past weekend were keeping the ball alive on offense, the gain line breakthroughs from the forwards, and the kicking defense from our backline,” captain Jason Tinch said.
As for the West championship, Fox Valley found itself in another tight defensive mêlée versus St. Paul. Like Queen City, the Maoris grabbed the lead early and never relinquished it to win 15-8.
The final entrants to the Midwest Championships are DIV’s Findlay Scars and the Chicago Blaze. In the Saturday semifinals, the Scars dominated Columbus, 55-5, the Westside Outcasts defeated Fort Wayne, 24-19, the Indianapolis Impalas beat Northeast Iowa, 22-17, and the Chicago Blaze shut out Des Moines, 59-0. Sunday’s finals saw Findlay pound Westside, 88-5, in the East and Chicago burn Indianapolis, 29-17, in the West.
The Findlay Scars ran roughshod over their competition this past weekend outscoring their opponents 143-10. Findlay’s forwards stepped as a whole and it will need them to do it again on Saturday against Chicago.
Women's
The East and West leagues have named their representatives to this weekend’s Midwest championship. East Green leader Cincinnati Kelts beat East Gold’s Buffalo 48-7, while Palmer College remained undefeated in the West after a 29-7 victory over Milwaukee Scylla.
The Kelts took control of the match early on, as outside center JaLisa Elkins scored the first of three first-half tries two minutes into the game. It was nearly a shutout as Adrienne Cusick (2), Kinsey Bryant-Lees, Courtney Moore and Kathryn Waligura kept the scoreboard ticking over, and Danielle Bass and Bryant-Lees kicked conversions. But in the waning minutes, Buffalo got on the board with a converted try.
The West final evolved in similar fashion, as Palmer College wing Skyler Zawko finished off four tries and flyhalf Claire Tomashek added a fourth and two conversions for 29 points. In the final 10 minutes, however, Scylla snapped the shutout with a converted try to end its season. Palmer College and the Cincinnati Kelts will meet in Chicago this weekend to decide the Midwest champion and representative to the DII national championship.
PACIFIC NORTHWEST
Men's
In the DII match between the Eastside Tsunami and Boise United, it was a hard-fought, blood-sporting battle, which entertained the crowd at ORSU’s Field at “the farm” from whistle to whistle. Boise United gave it all they had with 17 warriors but Tsunami had too much in the tank and won the contest 33-22.
DIII saw the Budd Bay Buffalos even their record to 2-2 with a 37-28 win over Tacoma and the Bend Roughriders improved to 3-1 after beating Clark County, 46-32.
Women's - Seattle/British Columbia
Seattle added another win in BC’s Mainland Tier A competition, downing Abbottsford 64-12. The Saracens are now 6-0 in the Canadian league.
RED RIVER
Men's
The Red River DIII North kicked off its season with Dallas Athletic’s 42-13 victory over Shreveport. Flyhalf Cole Winchester led all scorers with 17 points (a try, three penalties, and three conversions) and Joshua Love scored two tries in the win.
SOUTH
Men's
At its home field in Marietta, Ga., Life defended its turf from the invading New York Athletic Club. The Running Eagles made short work of the Winged Foot handing their opponent a 66-7 loss. Life concludes its ARP season with a rematch at 404 Rugby ATL on Saturday.
Charlotte has begun the DII Carolinas-Georgia on a three-game hot streak and dispatched Asheville 30-10 on Saturday. After their opponent kicked a penalty to start the game, Adam Shokair and Alex Zeitchick each scored a pair of tries and Blake Jackson totaled ten points with two penalties and two conversions. In the True South, Nashville moved in 2-1 in the division with a 41-20 defeat of Chattanooga.
Clayton traveled to Columbia in a DIII clash of two of last year's semifinalists. The winner would be sitting in a good position for this year's playoffs with the tiebreaker advantage. Columbia took a 19-point lead to 43-24 into the final 20 minutes, but Clayton roared back with three tries to tie it up at 43 all. Clayton had an opportunity to steal the victory, but a dropped pass in the waning minutes left the match as a draw.
In the Florida DII men’s openers, Boca Raton edged a home win over Miami RFC, 29-23, while Okapi Wanderers had their biggest league victory ever, knocking off Fort Lauderdale, 73-19, on the Okapi turf in Weston.
