The Stripes beat the Stars 27-10 in the Girls Stars & Stripes game Wednesday morning at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colo.

The Stripes were led by a physically imposing pack, and a group of small, scampering backs who just seemed to work together a little bit better than the Stars team.

Young fullback Lilly Durbin (Fallbrook, Calif.) was again superb playing against older players. The speedy outside back scored a couple of tries and made several try-saving tackles as the Stars mounted a comeback.

Up front, Hedvig Karlsson (Utah Vipers) led a powerful forward effort that capped off the game with a well-executed forwards’ try.

The teams were very close at halftime, with the Stripes clinging to a 10-5 lead. However, the Stripes scored twice relatively early in the second half to extend their lead to 22-5. Mata Hingano scored a long-range try for the Stars to pull a little closer, and she was almost away for another, but the cover defense from the Stripes was good, and, as stated earlier, Durbin took down several players much bigger than she to prevent tries.

With time essentially up the Stripes forwards rammed through one more, with Sheila Decker (Adirondack Rugby Club of NY but in the Vermont league) to finish the game 27-10.

“We didn’t really talk about winning until yesterday, when we got into our set teams,” said Karlsson. “But more it was about working our hardest, and your skills and technique, because that is how you win. If you’re doing all the right things, winning shouldn’t be a problem.”

Karlsson, who is over 6-2, had the luxury of packing down with forwards almost as tall as she, which made for a solid platform for the Stripes.

“I locked with Haley Langan (South Burlington, Vt.) and she’s the same height, and I love that,” said Karlsson. “I never get paired up with someone my own height. I focussed on getting as low as possible and pushing through those rucks. Usually in a game I get ‘try-eyes’ and I want to be the one, but at this level it didn’t matter if you did it or someone else did it, and I loved that last try because we all contributed.”

As for the Stars, Head Coach Kelly Seary said the team accomplished much of what they wanted.

“We had to focus on big picture because we had very limited time, so we were trying to use all the time that we had to help the team get to know each other and help them define who they are as a team,” said Seary. “On the field we focussed on general patterns and skill development.”

The experience will inspire the players to get better and, Seary said, the tools to get better, as well.

“We played a very dynamic, open game plan, but the important thing was we all played together,” added Seary. “It was a good team effort.”