Four teams remains in the CRAA Women's D2 championships and this weekend we'll find out who ends up on top.

Favorites are likely Vassar, which won the title last year in emphatic fashion over Temple. This year, Vassar returned to the semis after winning the Tri-State Conference. In what turned out to be one of the weirder playoff brackets in recent memory, Colorado School of Mines and US Coast Guard Academy (winners of the Rocky Mountain and NEWCRC conferences, respectively) also went straight to the semis.

Seven teams then battled it out for the final spot. Four teams played games to determine who would get a shot at Providence College. In the end Fairfield beat Kutztown by more than Vermont beat UMass Lowell and so it was Fairfield who moved on.

Fairfield then beat Providence 36-10 to play the winner of Temple vs Colorado Mesa. That was Temple, and the MARC champs won out to force a rematch with Vassar.

Vassar vs Temple

Not so idle was Vassar, which took games against Marist and Montclair State to stay sharp. The Brewers come in with their vaunted fitness and their all-student-body-in ruck style (six or seven players form a long ruck, call it the Poughkeepsie Python, and pick-and-go until a defense can stop it), and some major pace out wide.

"I think the priority for any player is to stay focused on doing the basic skills well, to stick with the unit and team processes and to not go into a shell or be intimidated by the occasion," said Head Coach Tony Brown. "These games are great opportunities for the players and we need to take the initiative and embrace the chance to showcase our skill sets."

While we have seen scrumhalf Sophia Bailey and flanker Yasmeen Kassem-Scott feature frequently in the try-scoring, Vassar has spread the wealth quite well. But they're not perfect. They did lose to Fairfield (before beating them in the conference playoffs), but added a win over Bowdoin, a team they lost to the year before.

As for Temple, they remember that 74-5 drubbing in last fall's final.

"From my standpoint this was the big goal of the year, to we can get back to this position," said Temple Head Coach Gary Pariseau. "It is a revenge match."

temple actually kind of rolled through the MARC this season so there was some question as to whether they had been tested. Turns out the Owls were just that good.

"With this team this year we were able to introduce a lot of complex things," said Pariseau. "We added elements to our game that we didn’t even think of last year and we got more comfortable with it, and more belief."

Temple has become more aggressive at the breakdown and expanded their playbook, and they know Vassar and have a plan.  

"The number one thing for us has been confidence," said Pariseau. "And everyone has done the hard work."

Watch for Macey Mento to be a huge factor. She played wing much of the fall but has been moved to fullback to give her more freedom to torment defenses with her pace and athleticism.

"The sky," said Pariseau, "is the limit."