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Written by Jackie Finlan
Monday, 03 October 2011 11:46 |
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All Blues Own Blue Conference |
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Clubs -
Women's Clubs
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Berkeley improved to 3-0 in the Women’s Premier League, having defeating visiting Beantown 48-10 on Saturday. The All Blues have beat all blue conference opponents soundly, scoring 172 points while allowing 32.
The first half began well and resulted in a 31-0 lead at half. Courtney Ellis accounted for the two forward tries – one from a driving lineout, the other after a series of forward movements. Ashley English migrated from fullback to flyhalf (and was later replaced by Ruth Bryson, who's coming off injury) and used her experience to launch a very dangerous backline. Kelly Griffin, Nathalie Marchino and Lucy Croy all scored tries, and Jamie Schukle slotted three conversions.
“We have a good backline,” Berkeley coach Kathy Flores said. “They won the club 7s championship and NASC 7s. They’ve played together a lot; they’re our gold star. The forwards haven’t played together as much, and they’re still trying to find their way.”
Beantown was by no means beaten at this point, and returned to the pitch with renewed vigor. Katie Dowty put her team on the board with a try, then some penalties set up a Beantown scrum that walked over the tryline, touched down by Rachel Milligan 31-10.
The penalties continued to pile up, and eventually two yellow cards to Liz Terry and Hilary Hegener were issued. Positional changes distracted the team, which resulted in some disjointed play for 30 minutes.
“Beantown brought it in the second half and caught us sleeping,” Flores said. “We had two sin bins, and we didn’t adjust quickly enough to missing two people on the field. We lost our No. 8, had to move our breakaways around. We got caught up in a frenzy, and then compounded it. Every time we got the ball, we tried to score because we hadn’t scored in 30 minutes.”
But once Berkeley was back to full strength, and the team pulled itself out of its frenetic play, the All Blues ran in three tries during the final six minutes of the game.
“Overall I wasn’t super pleased with how we played,” Flores said. “We’re not where we want to be. Every game is important. We’re halfway through the season, and each game is showing us our strengths and weaknesses. We want to peak at nationals, regardless of what place we’re playing for.”
Berkeley will travel to Beantown this weekend for the rematch, but before heading across the country, Flores will address a few issues that arose on Saturday. Most important on the agenda is adjusting quickly when key positions are vacated. Ball retention will be addressed, too, as Berkeley did well to steal possession, but then turned the ball over immediately afterward. And finally, the All Blues will tighten up their scrum mechanics to better take on a solid Beantown pack.
Although many teams have had issues traveling to away games, Berkeley will bring 30-35 players to Boston. Several players have migrated to Berkeley from the Boston area and are eagerly awaiting a visit home.
In other news, the DC Furies v Keystone match was canceled due to unplayable field conditions.
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Written by Pat Clifton
Tuesday, 04 October 2011 10:54 |
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Lindenwood Undefeated, Staying That Way |
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RUGBYmag Premier -
Scouting Reports
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 If you haven’t heard of the varsity program flourishing at Lindenwood University in Suburban St. Louis, remove the rock from above your foxhole and climb out.
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Written by RUGBYMag Staff
Tuesday, 04 October 2011 12:40 |
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DII Men's College Top 25, Oct. 4 2011 |
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Rankings -
Men DI College
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(This ranking was originally published Oct. 4 in our premier section)
DII is still a wide open race. Several of the top teams from a year ago are either DI or coping with high amounts of turnover, and some newcomers to the national picture look poised to make their move. Whitewater has had some closer scores than one might expect from the defending national champions, but the Warhawks are still winning. For now, there's no reason to panic and budge them from their perch.
However, if Lindenwood continues to bludgeon teams by 80, 90 and 133(!) points, it's going to be tough to keep the Lions out of the top spot. They face what will seemingly be their toughest league opponent Saturday in SLU. The Billikens are unbeaten and defending West champs, but they'll be up against it facing the varsity Lions.
Northern Colorado and the Colorado School of Mines both put up impressive scores last week. Perhaps most impressive was the Mines', beating the always athletic, always dangerous Lobos of New Mexico 57-38. Both UNC and the Mines have moved up before Saturday's rivalry match against one another.
Utah Valley has raced out to an impressive start, winning seven games in all. Four came against men's teams and aren't counted below. Their biggest test thus far is also Saturday, when they face the only team that beat them in the fall of 2010 -- Idaho State. UVU is now coached by longtime Utah United U19 coach Clint Wilson.
Northern Illinois also enjoyed a big jump in the rankings. The Huskies have choked in the Midwest playoffs in years past, but seem primed for a deep run this year, evidenced by a blazing 4-0 start.
The most represented league in our list iis New England, with Coast Guard, Boston and URI ranked back-to-back-to-back. That's because they're all 2-1 with wins against one another. New England is perenially one of the toughest leagues in all of DII, so don't be surprised if previously ranked Norwich reappears in the future.
Just as we disclaimed in the DI ranking, some teams who are inactive will drop. When they become active as others slow down, the field will level itself.
1. (1) UW-Whitewater. 3-0 forfeit over UW-Stevens Point
2. (2) Lindenwood. 4-0 Beat Missouri S&T 82-7, Washington 133-0
3. (3) Salisbury. 2-0 Beat George Mason 52-8
4. (5) Northern Colorado. 1-0 Beat Mesa State 69-24
5. (6) Utah Valley. 3-0 Beat Southern Utah 39-7
6. (4) Sierra College.
7. (7) Towson. 2-0 Won 46-19 over Mt. St. Mary's, 45-0 over John's Hopkins
8. (8) Mary Washington. 3-0 Won 19-11 over Old Dominion
9. (15) Northern Illinois. 4-0 Beat Northwestern 63-5
10. (9) Central Missouri. 2-0 Idle
11. (10) East Carolina.
12. (11) Bentley. 2-0 Beat St. Anselm 35-0, St. Michael's 55-5
13. (18) Colorado School of the Mines. 1-0 Beat New Mexico 57-38
14. (13) UNC Wilmington. Beat UNC-Charlotte 49-0
15. (Unr.) Coast Guard 2-1 Won 34-13 over Rhode Island, 22-15 over Vermont
16. (14) Boston. 2-1 Beat Norwich 22-17, Lost 22-19 to Rhode Island
17. (24) Rhode Island. 2-1 Lost 34-13 to Coast Guard, Won 22-19 over Boston
18. (Unr.) UW-Milwaukee. 3-0 Beat UW-Platteville 80-5
19. (16) Cal Maritime.
20. (17) Saint Louis. 2-0 Beat Principia 12-7
21. (Unr.) Radford. 1-0 Beat James Madison 41-12
22. (20) Georgetown. 0-1
23. (Unr.) Marist 4-0 Beat Fairfield 8-5, New Paltz 26-11
24. St. Cloud. 2-0 Beat Duluth 18-15
25. William Paterson. 3-1 Beat Vassar 31-10, Hostra 55-10
Dropped Out:
21. Pepperdine.
23. Cal State Fullerton.
22. UW-Lacrosse. 1-1 Lost 37-15 to UW-Whitewater
12. Norwich. 1-1-1 Lost 22-17 to Boston, Tied 28-28 with Holy Cross
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Written by RUGBYMag Staff
Tuesday, 04 October 2011 10:32 |
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Norwich Breaks NERFU Tie |
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Colleges -
Women's College
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Playing in its most difficult league game to date this season, Norwich shutout Rhode Island 34-0 to remain undefeated in NERFU’s women’s DII college. With the win, the Cadets have pushed URI into second place in the standings.
The game took place in unfavorable conditions, with rain, mud and cold winds curtailing Norwich’s wide open game. That said, team captain Katie Hathaway wasted no time crashing through the defense from five meters out for the game’s first try and sixth of the season.
Junior wing Andrea Vogt accounted for the second score, finishing off an impressive drive that returned the ball into URI’s end. Freshman center Vanessa Champagne slid her way through the defense for the third try, and junior Emily Baugus slotted the conversion for the 17-0 lead.
The second half saw sophomore fullback Rose Bernheim take advantage of the URI kicking game. Bernheim scored early on a long run and countered a number of the kick efforts URI provided.
The try of the day came from Bernheim as well. Sophomore center Jackie Derocher made a piercing run through the middle of the defense only to be tackled about 15 meters from goal. Derocher offloaded from the ground to Baugus, who was playing in her first game as a flanker. Baugus nearly touched down on the goal line and Bernheim was there to finish the play. Bernheim now leads the Cadets in overall tries scored with 9 on the season.
Junior wing Adria Pickin raced in for a try late in the game to solidify the victory.
“I was most impressed with our defense in today’s game,” said Norwich coach Austin Hall. “URI had us with our backs against the wall on multiple occasions, but we trusted in ourselves and continued to play on our front foot even when we didn’t have the ball. The mud and rain provided for some sloppy play at times, but we took the opportunity to work on our scrums against the strong URI pack and we gained something in that department.”
Norwich is 3-0 in New England and 8-0 overall. The Cadets will take on the US Coast Guard Academy on Saturday
Norwich 34
Tries: Bernheim 2, Champagne, Hathaway, Pickin, Vogt
Conversions: Baugus 2
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