Rugby: Princeton hosts 14-team tournament

“It was a difficult loss to handle,” junior inside center and co-captain Jenate Brown said. “We played a solid first half, but you could feel the momentum changing after halftime.”

The enormous importance of the game — the winner not only garners the EPRU title but also a berth in the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union playoffs next March — highlights a budding rivalry between the Tigers and the Golden Rams, who are one of only four varsity women’s rugby teams in the nation. West Chester boasts a recruiting-and-scholarship-aided team of 47 players, while the Tigers field only 25, but in a 15-7 loss to the Rams on Oct. 11, the Tigers proved that they were on equal footing with West Chester.

“In our first meeting, we were winning at the half,” Brown said. “And they really only beat us in the final 10 minutes. That game proved to us that even with our injuries and inexperience, we were able to play at their level.”

The Tigers wasted no time opening the scoring on Sunday, taking a 5-0 lead less than two minutes into the game on the contest’s first scrum. Backed inside its own 22-meter line, Princeton ran a successful back-row play to the blind side that sprung junior fullback Jess Smith for a 90-meter try.

After West Chester tied the score at five, the Tigers’ defense took over. Maintaining a bend-but-don’t-break mentality that allowed West Chester to control possession but reap little reward, the Princeton defense capitalized on errant passes twice to open a 17-5 lead. Both tries, nearly identical 70-meter steals by senior right wing Chanel Coney, came after the Princeton defense forced the Golden Rams into ill-advised passes across the middle of the field.

Following the Tigers’ third try and a successful conversion kick by freshman flyhalf Lauren Rhode, the Princeton defense held its ground, preserving the 17-5 score until halftime.

“At the half, our coaches told us to stay focused and not to let up,” junior eight-man and co-captain Elaine Bigelow said. “We were happy with how we had played in the first half, especially defensively, but at the same time, we were wary about our lack of possession … We have played West Chester enough times to know that they have the talent to capitalize on any weakness.”

But the Tigers were a different team in the second half, and true to form, the Golden Rams took advantage. Utilizing its significant size advantage, West Chester’s larger forwards began pounding the ball up the middle of the field, and the Tigers struggled to keep them contained.

After two quick scores and a conversion kick tied the score at 17, West Chester used the swinging momentum to launch a sustained attack. The Golden Rams took a 22-17 lead midway through the second half and, with the Tigers struggling to regain their footing, added another two tries before the game’s final whistle.

For a faster, undersized team like Princeton to succeed, it needs to get the ball out of the middle to its talented trio of backs. Coney, Smith and sophomore left wing Angela Yue comprise perhaps the most dangerous backfield in the EPRU, but, against West Chester, Princeton was unable to get the ball to the trio in open space.

“Simply put, we were not performing at the level we are capable of playing,” Bigelow said of the Tigers’ second-half performance.

Brown also made no excuses following the game.

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“The second half really exposed our lack of size and inexperience,” she said. “When your opponent begins scoring consistently, it is easy to get down on yourself. Keeping your head up and staying focused is extremely difficult in that situation.”

The loss headlined a weekend that was otherwise very successful for the Tigers. Playing host to the two-day, 14-team tournament, Princeton also oversaw the semifinals and finals for Divisions II, III and IV.

Run primarily by junior president Anna Moccia-Field, sophomore equipment manager Ting Ang and Bigelow, the tournament proved a full-weekend commitment for much of the team.

“The tournament went very smoothly,” said Bigelow, who noted that she received compliments from a number of visiting teams. “It involved a great deal of preparation, but, with the help of EPRU officials, there were no problems.”

The satisfaction of a well-run tournament in no way offsets the disappointment of a third-straight second-place finish, however.

“We are obviously frustrated with the result,” Bigelow said. “In both meetings this season we proved that we were on their level, we just couldn’t show it on the scoreboard … We will remember this feeling and take it into our spring season.”