Oct 3: VL v Hudson Valley

The Lions took the scenic route up to Beacon on Saturday to play Hudson Valley Women’s rugby team. The weather was warm, the field was on a slightly wavy patch of ground, and the bathrooms were about a mile away from the field. The Lions played evenly-paced, controlled rugby, and while their defense was more pulled together than it had been earlier in the season, it was never seriously challenged. Hudson Valley is a good-sized, dedicated team, but they played without much spark, and sturdy play by the Lion forwards coupled with clean lines and well-executed plays by the backs led to a 64-0 Lions victory.

Team Captain and 8-man extraordinaire Meg Collins ran roughshod through the opposition, notching 3 tries (another hat trick!) and 2 assists.

Woman of the Match Jackie Finlan led the back line at flyhalf, and here is what she had to say after the game: “The backs have been busy learning new plays and running patterns, so it was nice to build a lead that let us dip into the playbook. My favorite success was Svety’s line-breaking 2-6-out that set up a try. With so much room to run, the backs really had an opportunity to hone our communication in the open field. Kimbo verbalized her support lines especially well.”

Silent Force Kim “Kimbo” Dacres seconded Jackie’s assessment of the game, adding, “Good communication really pushed us to make amazing plays happen. We really stepped it up in the 2nd half and just ran textbook offense and defense.”

Lions 64: Collins (3), Finlan, Dacres, Rough, Asser, Harmon (100) (Let me know if you scored, please!)

Team (substitutions not noted): 1 Meg O’Connell 2 Meredith Harmon 3 Sharon Berger 4 Sari Warren 5 Jessica Houser 6 Kelly Rogers 7 Tricia Stanley 8 Meg Collins 9 Renee Ovrut 10 Jackie Finlan 11 Caitlyn Colman 12 Rosie Rough 13 Kimbo Dacres 14 Becca Asser 15 Sarah “Svet” Landry