Upstarts and Favorites Win in NIRA DI Opening Weekend

09.02.2023College Women

queens u charlotte women 2022 justin lafleur

NIRA's DI promises to be a season of surprises with plenty of competition after this weekend's action.

The Upstarts

As reported on Friday, Sacred Heart pulled off an excellent result against Army, defending doggedly at the goalline and getting some big efforts from Alyssa Cunningham, recruits Olivia Woods, Reece Woods, and Rees Torticill, and also sophomore forward Ashley Torres-Brown. SHU ended up taking a 31-7 bonus-point win with tries from Fabiola Millien-Faustin, Torres-Brown, and a hattrick from Torticill. Cunningham converted three.

Recruits, Cunningham Power Sacred Heart to Win Over Army

"I'm really proud of the team, they came out with intensity right away and never stopped," said SHU Head Coach Michelle Reed. "They just kept going and covering each other. We would change and sub players, but the product never changed from them, and that is what we want to see. No matter who goes out there, it should be the rugby that we play every time. I am really proud of all the work throughout preseason to come into this game and not only win but dominate a team that has been in the top four of NIRA for the last few years. It was so great to see, and I'm just really excited for the team. It's all on them, they put in the work out there."

Queens University Charlotte celebrated their debut in DI with a 27-18 defeat of new NIRA squad Navy. The day was a busy day of rugby with both Navy and Queens playing shortened games against Lander as well as a full game against each other. Navy were led by captain and center D'Alluin, who was excellent throughout, with forwards Abby Hershner and Miracle Haynes working hard up front and Jess McKenzie coming off the bench to add a spark.

But Queens defended well and moved the ball with skill to stretch the Navy defenders. Hooker Mikaela Hall was a force both with ball in hand and on defense. Her power and work rate set the tone. Scrumhalf Salome Schmitt was a sparkplug for the Royals and her quick thinking and quick play kept the tempo high. When she left the field on a yellow card you could see the play of Queens suffer.

Sophomore Margaret Sweeney was also a standout, and she in fact scored the first try of the game to follow up on a Maddie Hughes penalty goal. Navy inched closer with two penalties only for a Kayla Hoch try and Hughes conversion to keep Navy at arm's length. A try from Jade Medellin made it 20-6 and while two tries from Navy put them within two, the Royal would ice it late.

"We were really thrilled with the attitude and effort both of our teams showed today," said Queens Head Coach Dana Meschisi. "With two new assistant coaches and a jump to Division I, we've thrown a lot at our athletes the past two weeks, and it was really encouraging to see them put that work into action. We saw great set piece play and felt good about working through our offensive formation."

And not to be outdone, Long Island University recorded their first ever victory in NIRA DI action, shutting out Mount St. Mary's 18-0. LIU's speed produced tries when it counted and they were smart tactically, ensuring MSM had a long field to deal with almost the entire game. The Sharks defended well early on and got a penalty goal from Sophia Gaddis to go up 3-0. Gaddis is a solid goalkicker and certainly the Sharks looked to use her to take points when possible.

And while she wasn't always successful, the kicks from long range still kep MSM pinned in their own end. All of that led to LIU's first try as a long penalty attempt fell short. But after Mount St. Mary's kicked to get out of trouble LIU countered with freshman Kori Fields showing some excellent pace to race in from within her half.

That made it 8-0. The Mount held LIU in check after that but also couldn't really break through. Finally, as the first half came to a close Long Island defensive pressure forced a little bobble of the ball by MSM. Wing Tai Sherman swooped in to nab the loose ball out of the air and go 45 meters to score. Gaddis converted and it was 15-0 at halftime.

The second half was played between the 22-meter-lines, with most of it played in the Mount half. MSM tried to break out but it was tough sledding for the Maryland side. Finally, late in the game LIU opted for another penalty attempt from about 38 meters out. The ball hit the top of the crossbar, hung tantalizingly in the air, and then landed on the far side of the bar—flags up and it was 18-0.

LIU held on from there.

For the Sharks this was a crucial moment and just reward for Head Coach Joey Rasmus's work to recruit speed and a little additional rugby nous to the team.

The Favorites

Three teams favored to contend won big this weekend.

Dartmouth played a non-conference game against Penn State and won comfortably 79-0. Sia Meni and Simone Bautista both scored three tries while freshmen Cindy Taulava, Hehea Pulotu, and Paola Arredondo-Almeida all scored tries on debut. It was a very good showing but of course this game doesn't count in the standings. Dartmouth takes on Army next week.

Brown looked all sorts of powerful in their 88-0 shutout of Princeton. While the Tigers are still quite new to NIRA, Brown has a solid team with several returners. Princeton was burned repeatedly by turnovers and Brown's pace and teamwork made them pay.

Harvard also looked very good in beating Quinnipiac 55-14. The usual suspects of Cameron Fields, Chloe Headland, Lennox London, and Tiahna Padilla were all very dangerous and Quinnipiac had trouble keeping up with Harvard's overall pace and quick ball movement. The Bobcats kept the effort up, however, and created several scoring opportunities. The Crimson defense, however, coupled with a few Quinnipiac mistakes, kept the Bobcat scoresheet blank until late. Further effort did produce two late tries for Quinnipiac, but Harvard was full in control of the game.