Hurricane Doesn't Dampen MARC Victors

Hurricane Joaquin forced some cancellations and forfeits in the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Conference (MARC), but four DII women’s games did take place. Out front were division leaders Kutztown and Bloomsburg, which outscored their opponents by a combined 98-0.

In cold, wet, windy conditions, Kutztown traveled to The College of New Jersey and battled through a slow, deliberate game that was marred by handling errors. The visitors exited with a 50-0 victory, but coach Sean Cobb asserted that the contest was much closer than the scoreline suggests.

“TCNJ’s counter-ruck took us by surprise,” Cobb explained. “They did a great job of tackling the ball and slowing things down at the breakdown. They made us compete at every breakdown, which gave their defense time to organize and apply pressure. TCNJ really gave us all we could handle.”

But the Lady Bears have too many offensive weapons and couldn’t be fully contained. Eight different players scored tries: No. 8 Amber DeFabio and locks Aysia Grondahl and rookie Julie Kester represented the forwards, while backs saw rookie wing CJ Dickinson, centers Tayler Sandin and Danielle Ashway, fullback Natalie Flaim, and flyhalf Mary Cate Matta all score. Matta also contributed five conversions.

“The nice part is that we got the win, moving us to 2-0 and getting closer to our first goal of the season: win the Tri-State division of the MARC,” Cobb said. “However, the performance wasn’t up to par. The weather conditions led us to play a slow, methodical version of rugby, which we are fine with playing; however, it is not what we are looking to do this year.”

Also in Tri-State, Drexel played and won its first game of the season over LaSalle. Drexel operates on a quarter system and started school Sept. 21. The team was supposed to play its first game five days later but had to reschedule due to Pope Francis’ visit, only to battle hurricane conditions in the make-up. After trading first-half tries, Drexel used its defense to produce turnovers and more scoring opportunities, pulling away with a 31-20 win.

In the Pennsylvania division, Bloomsburg put up 48 unanswered points against York College and now sits at 3-0. Millersville triumphed over Lock Haven 27-10, evening its record at 2-2. Where the Tri-State division still has four teams with undefeated records, only Bloomsburg and East Stroudsburg retain unblemished records in Pennsylvania.

Week 4 Results
Friday, Oct. 2
Drexel 31-20 LaSalle University

Saturday, Oct. 3
Drexel 21-0 Rowan (Forfeit)
Millersville 27-10 Lock Haven
Kutztown 50-0 The College of New Jersey

Sunday, Oct. 4
Bloomsburg 48-0 York College