Something to Prove for Both USA Falcons and Life University Monday

07.29.2026College Women, Eagles

Life University players line up for the National Anthem at the 2025 Fall Classic. Photo Calder Cahill.

Life University's Nina Mason and Bella Vogel (middle two players) stand for the Anthem at the 2025 Fall Classic. Both will suit up for the USA Falcons against Life August 3. Photo Calder Cahill.

Author: Alex Goff

South America beckons once more for USA development teams and this time it's the USA Women’s Falcons, who will travel to Brazil in August.

But first, they will play Life University on Monday. This is an interesting step in the building of a depth chart of elite women's players in that Life University, in and of itself, is essentially a High Performance academy. Life was dominant (and we don't use that term lightly) in CRAA's D1 competition and in addition they were fairly dominant in winning the USA Rugby Women's Club championship ... at the same time ... and then added in the CRAA 7s title.

The program is so strong that three players—Bella Vogel, Lissa Salisbury, Nina Mason—will not play for Life against the Falcons ... they will play for the Falcons against Life.

For Life Head Coach Ryszard Chadwick, this entire scenario is perfect for him. There are no expectations for the Life team, and therefore that frees them up to do whatever they want. Ans what they want, in part, is to prove that their program is of a very high quality.

USA Women Falcons Roster

Jordynn LeBeau and her Eagle HS teammates talking to GRR way back in '24.

For the Falcons, there is a bit of pressure. This is a just-below-test-level team and therefore they would be expected to win the match.

But Life has been in camp for some days, and the upperclassmen know each other well. That's different from a Falcons side that is made up players who might knew each other, but might not.

"The overall objective of this prep camp is to establish clear standards and processes that will drive our development as we prepare for Brazil," said Falcons Head Coach Orlando Pulou. "Specifically, we aim to set high expectations for our style of play, create consistent processes for players to learn, review, improve and bring clarity around roles for both players and staff. This will help us build strong cohesion and develop a style, speed and intensity of play that we’ll be excited about."

The Falcons kick off against Life University on August 3 at 6PM ET.

Life stream here:

After that game, the Falcons will face off with the Brazil National Team on August 8 and August 12, providing a solid challenge because the Brazil players are experienced and will want to make a statement against the tourists.

USA Falcons Staff:
Head Coach: Orlando Pulou
Assistant (Defense): Mel Denham
Assistant (Forwards): Lissa Jackson
Assistant (Backs/Transition Play): Jack Hanratty
Strength & Conditioning: Nick Gallagher
Team Medical: Anna Unnasch
Team Medical: Mia Pelton
Team Manager: Louise Stewart