Oct 17-18: NRU Championships

The Lion women went down to Monmouth, NJ to play in the NRU Regional championship this weekend. Although there was some debate about rescheduling the tournament given the cold, windy, rainy weather, in the end it was decided to continue as planned. The first game was against the second-seed New England qualifier, Albany.

Albany was a well-pulled together team: small, speedy and organized; and the connection between the scrum- and fly-half was almost seamless. This was a challenge for the Lions, as IC Jackie Finlan noted, “Albany was the first dynamic back line we faced all season, and we had issues adjusting our defense. While we had the inside attack locked up, there were a number of overloads on the outside – a strategy that resulted in at least two Albany tries.”

Albany was the first to score, putting in two unanswered tries in the first half. Lions’ defense was a bit flat-footed, and although they exerted some pressure when they had the ball, they didn’t have a long enough stretch of possession to work it down to the try zone.

That changed around halftime when Woman of the Match and captain Meg Collins dotted down in the corner. The try was not converted, but the momentum shifted enough for the Lions to regain some ground. Silent Force Kathleen Ryan scored next, and this time the conversion was made, putting the Lions up 12-10 with about half an hour left in the game.

The next few minutes were hard-fought by both teams, and in the end precision of play and speed helped Albany prevail; they scored with about 15 minutes left to take the game to 12-15. While the Lions never gave up, they also never again posed a serious threat, and Albany slotted a penalty as time elapsed to bring the final score to 12-18.

The game was, “a system shock, ” noted Jackie, “but it was a necessary one. Hopefully it inspires the team to be better.” The loss to Albany ended Lions’ hopes for Nationals, and the other regional qualifier from Met-NY, Monmouth, also lost (to Providence), meaning a re-match between the Lions and Monmouth on Sunday for third place.

Lions 12
Tries: Collins, Ryan
Cons: Warren

Lions XV (substitutions not noted): 1 Taryn Goodman 2 Meredith Harmon 3 Kelly Rogers 4 Sari Warren 5 Jessica Houser 6 Jess Beck 7 Tricia Stanley 8 Meg Collins 9 Renee Ovrut 10 Erin Martschenko 11 Becca Asser 12 Jackie Finlan 13 Rosie Rough 14 Kimbo Dacres 15 Kathleen Ryan

On Sunday the third place game was slated to start at 9 am, and the weather had turned colder than the day before. A field change meant the game against Monmouth would also be muddier than the previous day’s game. The change caused the team van and a car or two carrying Lions’ players to be late for warm-ups; and some questionable U-turns made by the van’s driver left one team member carsick. Injuries to some key players also meant a re-shuffle of the previous day’s line-up, especially in the backline. All-in-all, it was a somewhat discombobulated team that took the field against Monmouth, a team the Lions had beaten handily only the week before.

Neither team played as though they had much to prove, but Monmouth seemed to have more fight than the Lions. Each individual Lion played hard and well, but the team lacked the cohesion that was one of their most valuable assets all season long. The game was scoreless for the first half, but right at the beginning of the second a Monmouth player darted in and scored, putting Monmouth in the lead 5-0.

The frustration of losing to a team they had just beaten finally put some spark into the Lion’s play: the forwards began rucking more reliably, and the backline started to click better than they had been. (Well, maybe it was the frustration, maybe it was that after 40 minutes of running around the team had finally warmed up.) In the last 10 minutes of the second half, the team’s energy was finally converted to points, as Rosie Rough sprinted in and centered her try. The conversion attempt went wide (Shoot! BETWEEN the posts!), leaving the game tied at 5 after 80 minutes. There should probably have been some type of overtime to decide a winner, but the coaches of both teams decided to call it a day, and the Lions retreated to NYC to lick their wounds and play another day.

Lions 5
Tries: Rough

Lions XV: I don’t know. Tell me if you played!

Captain Megan Collins had some thoughts about the Lions’ regional experience as a whole, and here they are: “Regionals, specifically the Albany game, were disappointing. It’s really hard to play against team of our own caliber when we don’t see that type of competition all season. It was definitely a reality check for next fall. We need to have that same level of competition in the spring to prepare us for next fall’s league season. I think the team knows what we want & what we need to do to get to nationals next season.”

Oct. 10: VL vs Monmouth

There’s nothing better than playing for fans, and the Lions Women dedicate their 47-12 win over Monmouth to those who cheered us on during Friends & Family Day. The Leonas are 5-0 at the conclusion of league season and have successfully defended its Met NY title. Next weekend the ladies head to Monmouth for Northeast playoffs.

The nervous energy was palpable as kickoff loomed, as the Lions expected the first real competition of its season. History suggested an even fight, with Monmouth winning the last showdown in DC, and the Lions eking out a two-point victory last year.

And fans were not disappointed in what evolved. The Lions ran out to two quick tries from Meg Collins and Rosie Rough, but Monmouth flanker Hope-something kept her team close with a 10-meter try.

The Lions sucked it up, buckled down on post defense and kept the Renegades scoreless for the rest of the first 40. The backs finally took advantage of their space outside, and Kathleen Ryan and Becca Asser linked up for a nice scissor try – a score that coach Mary Holmes claimed as one of the prettiest tries she’s seen.

Forwards put up a great fight against the typically larger Monmouth scrum, and managed to steal a couple of their put-ins. The forwards accounted for a pushover try in the first half, getting far enough over the line for Renee Ovrut to take one step in the try zone for the five-pointer.

Monmouth put in one other try – though it’s debatable if it was actually touched down considering Kim Dacres had her hand underneath the ball and then punched it out of the girl’s possession – but it was enough to keep the Lions on their front feet.

Holmes commended the effort, and in particular, Becca Asser’s performance on the wing. “She kicked when she was supposed to kick, and linked up well with her support,” Holmes said. The nod earned her the Woman of the Match jacket from her peers, while lock Jess Houser took Silent Force.

The Lions will face either Providence or Albany (most likely) in next week’s playoffs. Top two finishers head to nationals at a still TBD location.

Lions 47
Tries: Collins, Rough 2, Asser 2, Ryan, Ovrut
Conversions: Warren 6

1. Taryn Goodman, 2. Meredith Harmon, 3. Kelly Rogers, 4. Sari Warren, 5. Jess Houser, 6. Jess Beck, 7. Tricia Stanley, 8. Meg Collins, 9. Renee Ovrut, 10. Kim Dacres, 11. Sarah Landry, 12. Jackie Finlan, 13. Rosie Rough, 14. Becca Asser, 15. Kathleen Ryan. 16. Sharon Berger, 17. Sophie Denis, 18. Emma Fisher, 19. Ros Lovina, 20. Emi Okamoto.

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

Sept 26 – VL v Bull Moose

The Lions traveled out to Long Island on Saturday to play Suffolk Bull Moose in Stony Brook. The field was real grass, long and narrow, and the weather was temperate, very nice conditions for rugby. Bull Moose looked imposing in warm-ups, they have some size-able forwards and some pace in the backs, but in the end they did not pose much of a threat. In fact, from the opening minutes the Lions were on the front foot.

The first score came from wing Caitlyn Colman-McGaw, who had 2 tries on the day. The Lions won the ball a couple of phases from the kick-off, and the backline ran a skip and a loop, creating an overload, and Colman ran in the score.

Silent Force Sari Warren scored the next try when she wound up with the ball off the back of a maul, broke through a lackluster tackle attempt, and found herself 20 meters from the try line with nothing but open field in front of her.

Two quick tries had set the tone, and the Lions ran in a total of 8 tries during the game, with a comparable number of backs and forwards scoring. Number 8 Megan Collins used her powerful running and quick feet to score 3 of those tries, and the hat trick, along with her usual superb play, earned her the Woman of the Match jacket.

WOM Collins said, “It feels great to be part of such a cohesive team…the way we’re supporting each other all over the field, whether it be during a ruck or an off-load, combined with improved communication are great signs heading into the 2nd half of the season…this is definitely one of the most talented lions’ teams I’ve been on to date…”

The solid play lasted to the end of the game, when prop Kelly Rogers notched a try. The backs ran the ball through the hands, and flanker Jess Beck got the ball off of the resulting ruck. She ran it forward, popping it to K-Rog, who stiff-armed the last defender and touched down in the corner.

Coach Mary summarized the game as follows: “The team has an offensive field day against the Bull Moose women. Forwards were all over the field provided quality ball to the backs. Our backs reciprocated by joining / clearing rucks when needed allowing the forwards to set up for open field runs. I am looking forward to next weekend’s game versus Hudson Valley. We will get a clearer idea of where we are in our preparation for Monmouth and Regionals as they will be our strongest opposition thus far this league season.”

Lions 46:
Tries: Colman (2), Warren, Collins (3), Rough, Rogers
Cons: Warren (2), Ryan

Team (substitutions not noted): 1 Goodman 2 Harmon 3 Rogers 4 Berger 5 Warren 6 Lovina Anderson 7 Stanley 8 Collins 9 Asser 10 D’Acres 11 Landry 12 Rough 13 Ryan 14 Colman 15 McNicholas

Sept 19: VL vs Brooklyn

It was a hot day in Red Hook, where the Leonas travelled to play Brooklyn Women this Saturday. The field was good-sized, but pebbly and very, very dusty. In fact, during many of the chases, it was like being a wildebeest during a stampede in the Serengeti! Brooklyn put up a decent fight, but were out-sized in the forwards and out-paced by the Lions backs, who ran in 7 unanswered tries, for a final score of 49-0.

Rosie Rough got the scoring started a few minutes into the first half, receiving the ball after a ruck at the Lions 22, and slipping her way downfield to score between the posts.

“Watching Rosie score the first try was great motivation, and really amped up the team to bring the game back onto our level,” said Silent Force and tighthead prop, Kelly Rogers.

Many of the tries bore a similar stamp, with SF Rogers and the fowards winning ball off a set piece or in the loose, and the backs capitalizing on the space created. Here’s a summary:

-Jackie Finlan receives the ball off a scrum, kicks it forward, Kim D’Acres recovers it, takes the ball to Brooklyn’s ten, then pops of to Rosie from the tackle, who scores.

-Lions lineout at Brooklyn’s 22, ball is caught and driven 5 meters, passed through hands to Kathleen Ryan, Woman of the Match, who sprints it down the sideline and scores. The fullback had a stellar game, with decisive, powerful play, and 2 conversions in addition to the try.

-Off of 2 phases of forward punches, ball is spun out to Rough at Brooklyn’s 22, she runs it in and centers the try.

-Finlan kicks from Lion’s 22, Rough and D’Acres chase, Rough retrieves, then dishes to D’Acres who scores under the posts.

The flurry of tries at the end of the first half was the most cohesive part of the game for the Lions. As noted by SF Rogers, “Once the team shifted gears and started playing basic Lions rugby towards the second part of the first half, everything pretty much fell back together. We then were able to bring clean ball out to the backs.”

The successful first half caused the Lions to let their foot off the gas a little in the second half, making for a slightly scrappier game.

Becca Asser started off the scoring in the second half, with a 20-yard run. The next try was a nice display of teamwork, with the forwards winning the ball at the scrum, then the backs passing it through hands, ending at Finlan, who had the try. All in all, the Lions backs had a field day, taking full advantage of the opportunties they were given, and handing in a clean win. (Actually it was a really, really grimy win, but the play was clean.)

Scores: Rough 3T, Ryan T 2C, D’Acres T, Asser T, Finlan T, Warren 5C

Line-up (Substitutions not noted): 1 O’Connell 2 Harmon 3 Rogers 4 Warren 5 Houser 6 Anderson 7 Stanley 8 Collins 9 Asser 10 Finlan 11 Szakacs 12 Rough 13 D’Acres 14 Colman-McGraw 15 Ryan.

After the league game was concluded, the Lions and Brooklyn played an extra 30-minute period. The Lions dominated here as well, scoring 3 tries. Highlights included Tricia Stanley stealing 2 Brooklyn lineouts, and great support in the backline.

Scrumhalf Renee Ovrut ran in the first try off a pop from Megan Collins, and Sophie Denis had 2 tries, one from a quick ruck, and one from a pass out from WOM Ryan.

Scores: Ovrut T, Denis 2T (Conversions?)