Sisterhood, Worldliness, and Some Challenges in NIRA
Sisterhood, Worldliness, and Some Challenges in NIRA
We see a bit of sisterhood, some worldliness, and plenty of challenges this week in NIRA.
Last week we saw yet another reason to keep a close eye on Quinnipiac.
The Bobcats have the week off this week and earned it after a controlled win over Navy 38-3 in which Navy hardly saw the opposing half. Quinnipiac's defense, precision, and catch-pass kept them on top the whole time.
More than that, though, this game was a perfect example of the mutual respect the game brings between opponents. In the summer, Quinnipiac Head Coach Becky Carlson's father, Don, passed away. Commander Don Carlson (Ret.) was a graduate of the US Naval Academy and after a 22-year career in the US Navy he spend 20 years as the head of the Plebe Advising Program, serving as a mentor to all the new midshipmen as they entered the academy. His influence over young men and women was enormous—Navy Head Coach Murph McCarthy was one of those he mentored. So before the game both teams held a touching moment of silence for CMDR Carlson.
"It’s always been an emotional match up because of the USNA roots," Carlson told GRR after the game. "Murph was at the funeral so it was comforting to have him stand with me during the moment of silence. They are laying his ashes to rest on the yard wall in November so his 4th company classmates and our family will see him off one more time."
Oxford University is on tour in the USA; they lost 93-0 to Harvard on Saturday and 38-15 to West Point on Wednesday. Several Crimson players scored multiple tries before younger players were run on. Army controlled possession in the first half but it was 7-5 until about 26 minutes in before tries from Elena Andrare, Cassidy Ball, and Gabby Woenker running in tries to take a 26-5 lead into the break.
Woenker ended with two tries and Alissa Eisenhart scored 13 points with a try and four conversions.
"Today was a good game for us. This was a great opportunity to get our team in front of an opponent they don't usually see and to put some new faces into our lineup," said Army Head Coach Bill Leclerc. "It was a great opportunity for our girls to get to play with a team like Oxford as we get ready to face Sacred Heart next Friday."
Meanwhile, Dartmouth made a bit of a statement with a 36-0 shutout of Queens. Sierra Santiago scored two early tries while Annie Henrich scored a try and converted three. The defense was the big star of that show.
This coming weekend we will see Oxford complete their tour at the US Naval Academy. In-league we've got a major showdown with Sacred heart at Dartmouth. Dartmouth is now 3-0 and seeking another NIRA title, but this week will be a key test. Sacred Heart is 1-1-0 this season in NIRA with a big win over Princeton and a close loss to Harvard. There is no reason to think Sacred Heart can't push Dartmouth just as hard as they pushed Harvard.
Also in D-I, Brown is at Princeton. It's interesting to see that Princeton beat a very good D-III team in Bowdoin to the tune of 59-0. This was actually Princeton's first victory as an NCAA program. Celia Watson scored three tries and Hannah Mulligan scored two. That should. be a good confidence-builder for the Tigers.
For their part, Brown has some work to do. They tied Quinnipiac and then beat Queens (but it was close, 24-21) and D-II AIC (but it was 38-21). they could use a good showing against Princeton.
