Army Wins Key One, and More from NIRA
Army Wins Key One, and More from NIRA
Harvard defeated a very tough Queens University Charlotte Saturday to the tune of 60-17.
It was an impressive road win for the Crimson, paced by four tries from Lennox London and tries from Josephine Mignone, PK Vincze, Chloe Headland, Charlotte Gilmour, Nafanua Fitisemanu, and Ava Ferrence.
Harvard's ability to get quick ball out to their attacking runners and their forwards' physicality at the gain line saw them through to a 4-1-1 record (including a non-conference win over Oxford University).
Brown improved to 3-1-1 with a three-digit win over Mount St. Mary's.
Sacred Heart won 53-19 over Navy, The Pioneers got tries from Reece Woods, Alyssa Cunningham, Sarah Gray, Caitlyn Caldon, Erin Croke, and Caroline Woelfel, while Cunningham had three conversions and two penalty goals. Caldon added three conversions as well.
This was a good defensive performance from Sacred Heart, especially in the first half, when they led 31-0.
Sacred Heart is now 2-3-1, with last week's wild 41-41 tie with Davenport. In-conference they are 2-3, with two of those losses by less than a converted try.
And perhaps te most consequential game was Army vs Quinnipiac in a meeting of the two longest-tenured head coaches in NIRA in Bill LeClerc and Becky Carlson.
It turned into a squeaker.
"It was a squeaker alright," said LeClerc. "We got two converted tries and they got two non-converted tries. You have the power rankings and they're pretty accurate. There's not that much different between third, fourth, and fifth."
Chloe De Leon and hard-hitting center Yesenia Morales scored tries for Army, both in the first half and both converted by Alissa Eisenhart. Lily Morris and Lavia Cox scored for Quinnipiac, but Army held on for the final 20 minutes to win it 14-10.
"Anna van Dyk caused all sorts of hell for us in the lineouts," said LeClerc. "For the last 20 minutes they just needed a try, didn't even need a converted try, to win it. They're a really good program. Any team that draws with Harvard and Brown is here for a reason. We played territory fairly well—we spent more time in their half than in ours, and the idea is, make them beat you from 80 meters as opposed to from 20."
Quinnipiac is a tough place play and this was a huge win for Army.
"Everyone knew it was going to be hard and everyone knew there was a lot at stake," added LeClerc. "It was a hard game and it was pretty quiet on the bus back."
With the win Army likely moves past Quinnipiac into 3rd in the NIRA D-I power rankings. The wins by Brown and Sacred Heart likely move them close to 4th.
