GRR: CSU Northridge
CSU Northridge took a tough road to the DII spring championship. During the Round of 16, the SoCal champ needed overtime to beat UN Reno, and then slugged it out with Humboldt for a four-point win the following day. This weekend in Pittsburgh, Northridge defeated Florida International 27-5 in the semifinals, and then squared up against familiar opponent UC Riverside in today’s final.
Southern California is the big winner in tomorrow’s women’s DII college spring championship, as CSU Northridge and UC Riverside advance to the title bout. The victor will compete against Notre Dame College on May 9 at Kennesaw State (Ga.) for the national championship.
CSU Northridge is 10 years more mature after its experience at the DII West regional championship. The Southern California champ won its two playoff games by a combined 13 points, beating UN Reno 41-32 in overtime Saturday (read more) and a hungry Humboldt 36-32 yesterday.
CSU Northridge coach Christina Alatorre said she prepared the team for a range of “what if” scenarios, but she was referring to roster shifts. Both Northridge and UN Reno probably didn’t think that their DII national Round of 16 playoff would be decided in overtime, or by three yellow cards.
It was billed as the “game to watch,” and CSU Northridge and UC Riverside did not disappoint. With 10 minutes remaining in the game, Riverside trailed USA Rugby’s DII national runner-up by two points, but then a yellow card opened up the necessary space for CSU Northridge to run in three tries to finish the game 38-17.