In a thriller of a final, Harvard three-peated as National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) champions, holding off NIRA debutantes Lindenwood 22-19.
The game was played at a furious pace and had its fair share of pivotal moments and players.
Lindenwood started the game on the front foot and spent a good portion of time running hard at the Harvard defense. But, in what would become a theme of the day, the Crimson defense committed itself to tackling the likes of Freda Tafuna and Jasmine Fehoko. They got out of the first bit of trouble and used the boot and their speed to get into Lindenwood territory.
There the Crimson threatened to score but Tafuna stole the ball in the tackle. But she was penalized for not releasing the tackled player. Harvard scrumhalf Ava Frerence ran to the mark and tapped. Prop Courtney Taylor was quick to see the potential and moved to Ference’s left, called for the ball, and took it over the line.
That made it 7-0. Lindenwod responded well, with Tafuna running an eightman pick. The Lions moved quickly and they sent it wide. Harvard held on but after the forwards powered close to the line, scrumhalf Sofia Florio sent it wide to center Loimata Toia, who crashed over. Conversion good and it was 7-7.
Harvard, however, began to assert control of the scrums. Tafuna was put at No. 8 in order to get the ball away quickly, but the Harvard tight five of Charlotte Gilmour, Sophie Hayes, Courtney Taylor, Madelyn Hubbell, and Eva Rankin kept shoving the Lindenwood pack back on their heels.
Lineout time was better, but in general Harvard No. 8 Gemma Ogoke could get up quickly and she was secure on her ball while Lindenwood struggled to get clean possession.
All of this helped Harvard get back on the front foot. They patiently worked through the phases and usually gained some ground when they did it. Tiahna Padilla did well to time her passes and send her teammates through the games.
Soon Harvard got a penalty and took the lineout. There they ran a well-executed maul, were slowed down, and realigned the point of attack for Gilmour to take it over.
Harvard led 12-7.
It was lather, rinse, repeat, as Harvard took another maul, and once again Gilmour was over.
Halftime, with Harvard ahead 17-7.
Lindenwood continued to pressure throughout the game, when they had the ball. But Harvard was quick to steal possession, making scoring opportunities few and far between.
However, the Lions did work their way close and Florio get it out to lock Lucia Del Camp, who shouldered away two defenders to touch down. That made it a 17-14 game.
The key play came when Harvard was threatening but not quite able to get through. Catching a ball flat-footed and with defenders rushing onto her, Padilla lofted a wide kick than bounced high, eluding two Lindenwood players and allowing the taller Sana’a Lunon to grab it and score. It was a superb combination of skill from Padilla and athleticism from the young Lunon. Harvard led 22-14.
Time whittled away. Lindenwood passed up a kickable penalty and failed to score a try on that sequence. That was a big call.
