Front row from left: Head Coach Ernie Espinoza, Hailey Halvorson, Alyssa Bishop, Siva Aisea, Lia Tafea, Patricia Johnson. Middle row from left: Assistant coach Pat Hogan, Rachel Sorenson, Hannah Fallon, Hannah Bell, Charlee Mackey, Gabby Yundt, Krystal Franklin, Angelica Alvarez, Forwards coach Eric Zimmerman Back row, from left: Assistant coach Mark McDonnell, Kayla Postula, Mixtly Simon, Ali Austin, Candace Mahoney Watson, Cindy Vete, Eita Lavemai, Anna Rinearson, Brittany Freeman, Maurita McDonnell, Assistant coach Greg Tracey Click on image for larger picture.

The Rugby Oregon U19 High School girls select side capped off a successful fall season, playing ten matches against college teams throughout the Northwest, beating nine and losing only one match, and that one by a mere two points. 

The highlight of the season was the team defeating both Oregon State and the University of Oregon, but the overall record was very impressive. 

In their ten matches, only once did the U19s give up more than seven points, that in a 30-27 defeat of Western Oregon on October 15. 

In the remaining nine games they scored 219 points while yielding 22. Head Coach Ernie Espinoza has used the program to improve the skills of those players who want to add an extra season of rugby to their year. Those players then go back to their teams and make everyone better. 

"I would say everyone improved on their rugby skills," Espinoza said. "Everyone stepped up and we didn't rely on just one player. Our focus was to offload every time, no matter whether you are a forward of a back. Offloading was our bread and butter." 

Espinoza added that the key focus for the team was playing and improving on the simple things.

"Since we only practiced one day a week for two hours, I decided to focus on point of attack, and it worked. In the past I attempted to teach the whole game of rugby in two hours," he explained. "Lesson learned: keep it simple."

Oregton U19 High School Girls All-Stars
Eita Lavemai (Beaverton) Sammie Moore (West Linn) Gabby Yundt (Linn Benton) Anna Rinearson (West Linn) Alejandra Trujillo (West Linn) Kayla Postula (Cleveland) Lia Tafea (Baeverton) Latayna Sallah (Beaverton) Riley Swanson (West Linn) Mixtly Simon (Battle Ground) Maurita McDonnell (Beaverton) Candace Mahoney Watson (West Linn) Charlee Mackey (Grant) Patricia Johnson (Canby) Erica Henstein (West Linn) Hailey Halvorson (New Berg) Brittany Freeman (West Linn) Hannah Bell (New Berg) Alyssa Bishop (West Linn) Brianna Burroughs (Clackamas) Hannah Fallon (Battle Ground) Krystal Franklin (Columbia County) Ali Austin (West Linn) Mackenzie Bangs (Linn Benton) Angelica Alvarez (Beaverton) Rachel Sorenson (Beaverton) Siva Aisea (Cleveland)

Coaching Staff: Ernie Espinoza, Eric Zimmerman, Pat Hogan, Greg Tracey, Mark McDonnell

FALL 2011 RUGBY OREGON RED HAWKS MATCH SCHEDULE

U19 HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS

Sept. 24
Oregon U19s 52 Reed College 0

Oct. 8   Babb Fest

Oregon U19s 20 Reed College 0

Oregon U19s 10  University of Washington 0

Oregon U19s 15 Oregon State University 5 

Oct. 15
Oregon U19s 30 Western Oregon University 27

Oct. 22
Oregon u19s 77 Willamette University 0

Oct. 29
Oregon U19s 15 University of Oregon 5

Nov. 5 OSU Homecoming Tournament

Oregon U19s 10 Oregon State University 0

Oregon U19s 10 Oregon State University Bs 0

Oregon U19s 5  University of Washington 7

Oregon U19s 15 University of Nevada Reno 0

Games Played: 10
Won: 9
Lost: 1
Points for: 224
Points against: 49
Shutouts: 5