Dartmouth, Harvard, Sacred Heart, and Queens all logged victories in NIRA's D-I, with four winners in five games.
Brown vs Quinnipiac
Brown and Quinnipiac played to a 17-17 tie Saturday. The game was even throughout. In fact it took more than 20 minutes for anyone to score. Finally, Quinnipiac used their kicking game to get themselves in the font foot in the Brown 22, and finally Kat Story snaked around and set up lock Kelsey Thomas to crash over. Fódhla Ní Bhraonáin converted for a 7-0 lead. Quinnipiac kept coming and a couple of big carries from flanker Riva van der Valk allowed Storey to speed around the outside for a try and a 12-0 lead.
Brown came back right after that and surged into Bobcat territory before Yona Allouche was set up nicely for a try and a 12-5 halftime lead.
In the second half, Brown kept up the momentum and some hard yards from No. 8 Nikki Lynch allowed the Brown star to score. Julia Murray converted to make it 12-12. On came Brown and while Quinnipiac held firm for a while, finally a powerful charge from Sorensen finalist Akilah Cathey put her over to put Brown ahead 17-12.
From the restart, Quinnipiac did well to force a turnover off the restart. While Brown was able to rip the ball away, they lost it forward. That gave Quinnipiac a scrum right under the posts. Diminutive flanker Ava O'Malley was shifted to No. 8 and then she scrambled snappily off the back of the scrum and scored wide right. That tied it up.
Both teams had chances and time to win it. Quinnipiac was right on the tryline a couple of times and seemed sure to win it. Brown held them off, and eventually the ball was at the other end of the field. As it was, Quinnipiac shut them down and the game ended in a tie.
Brown 17
Tries: Allouche, Lynch, Cathey
Convs: Murray
Quinnipiac 17
Tries: Thomas, Storey, O'Malley
Convs: Ní Bhraonáin
Navy vs Queens
Queens University of Charlotte surprised many with a dominant win at the US Naval Academy. The speed and power of the Royals' backline was in evidence early, when fullback Jay Stone exploited a tiny gap and raced over half the field to score. A powerful run from No. 8 Lea Preuss set up a quick ball to flanker Lily Separ which, with Cece Scarff's second conversion, it was 14-0.
Navy had chances and a break, penalty, and lineout didn't connect. Little execution problems undercut those Navy chances. More explosive running from Stone set up a try for prop Jada Medellin and with the Scarff conversion it was 21-0 at halftime. Leading the way for Queens was scrumhalf Salome Schmitt, who ran the attack well and allowed Queens to play quickly.
Schmitt got just reward for this as she scored after a quick tap. Another Navy lineout miscue led to Queens to put the pressure on, a couple more penalties, and finally No. 8 Preuss was over.
That made it 33-0. Finally Navy scored when Alexis Rohrbach fielded a kick and broke through a somewhat fractured Queens chase line and went about 75 meters in a brilliant individual effort. Jamison Wheeler converted. Schmitt finished it off scoring on a tap penalty, and that was it. Queens had won impressive 40-7.
Queens 40
Tries: Stone, Separ, Medellin, Schmitt 2, Preuss
Convs: Scarff 5
Navy 7
Tries: Rohrbach
Convs: Wheeler
