NORTHFIELD, Vt. - Playing in front of their
parents on a beautiful fall morning, the Norwich women's rugby team
earned its seventh victory of the season by downing Plymouth State
57-5 on Saturday, Sept. 29. Norwich (7-0, 2-0 NERFU) started
a young pack and rested a number of their starting forwards.
Scoring started early when junior wing Ashley de Grasse
(Colchester, Vt.) countered a Plymouth kick. De Grasse went
on to score three more tries in the match bringing her team high
total to 11 tries in seven matches. Junior center Ashley Lally
(Sparta, N.J.) added a pair of tries, one from a kick and chase and
one from her patented crash and cut move.
Senior fullback Sybil Taunton (Brentwood, Calif.), who was last
year's leading scorer, scored a try as did three-year starter,
junior flanker Angela Lakey (Houston, Texas). Scoring their
first tries for the "Wick" were junior center Kelly Sullivan
(Abbington, Mass.), junior lock Kelly Allenspach (Andover, N.J.)
and sophomore wing Hailey Ribeiro (Sebastian, Fla.).
Senior flyhalf Cassie Thompson added one conversion on a dismal
day for kicking, to finalize the score at 57-5.
"Plymouth State is going through a tough season," said NU head
coach Austin Hall. "They've been amongst the best teams in
the country and they will get back to that level. They are
very well coached and a fun team to play. We wish them the
best of luck for the rest of the season.
"We were able to rest some key players who had minor bumps and
bruises and provide game experience to some of our younger
players. Our focus this week will be on scrums, line-outs and
our current nightmare - conversion kicks."
The second XV earned their second victory of the season with a
10-5 come-from-behind victory. After a great try from Plymouth
freshman prop Rachel Bitar (Dedham, Mass.) tied the match with a
touchdown in the corner, freshman flanker Anita Moreno (Long
Island, N.Y.) scored on a long breakaway to win the match in the
closing minute.
Norwich returns to action on Saturday, October 6, with an 11
a.m. match against Williams College. The game marks the final
regular season home match for the Cadets.
