Life University and Central Washington University are making their way to Pittsburgh, Pa., for the Women’s DI College spring semifinals. The teams will contest their playoff match on Friday, April 24, at 5:45 p.m. EDT, following the 4 p.m. BYU vs. West Chester game (read preview here).

Both teams are rounding out their first varsity season; however, Central Washington has been playing rugby as a club for years. Last year marked a drastic shift in focus, but the Wildcats have roots in the Pacific Northwest. Life, on the other hand, is really rounding out its first year of competitive play. The Running Eagles played a friendly 2013-14, but only joined the South Independent conference as an eligible member this season.

Both programs have had epic years, but the Wildcats have been the story of this post-season. Two weekends ago, Central Washington put a startling 53-7 win over Stanford in its history books. The rugby public had been aware of CWU’s strength, but that victory helped understand its depth.

The Wildcats are really well rounded, but their creativity in attack and feistiness in contact are what make them special. In tight, Central Washington can rely on the go-forward of Sacramento duo Angela Ve’evalu and Suli Tausinga. The Johnsons – Heather and Jenny, unrelated – are great in and around the pile, but the whole team is pretty solid. When the ball moves away from the breakdown, then you’ll see a talented backline that starts with Kat Long, who has one of the best boots off of the tee. If she’s not standing at 10, then it might be Cassidy Meyers, who was very potent at fullback during the first two rounds of national playoffs. There’s about a foot height difference between freshmen centers Queen Fina Toetu’u and Nate Serevi, but they’re exciting and have great field vision, switching fields with long spin passes. And then the finishing power of Ashley Rolsma, and Meyers, is unparalleled.

Life has work to do, and the first 10 minutes of play will be very important, as the team won’t have the luxury of an adjustment period to find their rhythm. The pressure defense and first-up tackles must be on point; support must be quick and ever-present; and unforced errors must be limited, especially in their own end.

The Marietta, Ga., team is the underdog, but they are far from doomed. They have plenty of weapons and have shown a resiliency that has seen them through some tight games (Life beat North Carolina 12-10 on the final play of the game to advance to the semifinals). If Central Washington wants to kick-and-chase, then they’ll be playing into the hands of fullback Kaitlyn Broughton, who is half of a nice one-two punch with wing Deshel Ferguson. The whole backline is well skilled, and coach Ros Chou is so confident in her squad once they get running with the ball.

The forwards follow senior Nicole Strasko, and her leadership helped the pack stand up to post-season teams that wanted to bring the game in tight. Life did well to absorb those attacks, to keep launching against teams like Central Florida, playing patiently until the opportunities arose. Hard-working freshman Karen Faget, AIC alum Darian Lovelace (who will face former Yellow Jackets Meyers, Rosalind Pena, Haley Schafer, Carrie Vaillancourt, and coach Mel Denham on Friday), and flanker N’Keiah Butler are just a sampling of the mobile pack supporting the speedy backs.

Every step going forward is unchartered territory for both programs. Friday’s victor will extend that journey, taking on the winner of BYU vs. West Chester in Saturday’s spring championship. The last team standing will take one more flight to Kennesaw State to play Penn State on May 9 for the national title.