When Chicago Cubs shortstop Ernie Banks coined the phrase "let's play two," he didn't know that women's rugby players would be heeding his advice.  On Saturday, 23 Norwich ruggers combined to play back-to-back complete matches, picking up victories against St. Michael's, 70-0, and Middlebury, 28-22.

The first match saw the Norwich forwards control most of the possession and territory. In the opening minutes, Ferne Ryder scored her first career try and Rachel Bitar added one as well. After a good stint of attack from the Purple Knights, the Cadets regained their composure and exploded for four more first half tries. Anita Moreno scored her first career try, Katie Hathaway added one, and Clarissa Wynn added two of her own. The half ended with Norwich on top, 34-0.

The second half saw more of the same dominant play from the Norwich forwards. Wynn added a third try, Unna Lee scored one, Christine Aye added a pair, and Brittni Bartholomew added a pair, the first two of her career. Wynn led all scorers with 25 points.

"We were pumped to play," said Norwich head coach Austin Hall. "After our loss to Stonehill, this team worked hard at practice and took advantage of every opportunity to attack. St. Michael's is a young team with potential and we hope to see them climbing the tables in years to come."

With a 10 minute break following the first 80-minute match, the Cadets returned to the field with a bit less zip in their stride than they had in the first game. Middlebury got on the board first and took a 5-0 lead in the opening minutes. After some back and forth play, Ryder found ball in hand and accelerated past four defenders to race in for a 50-meter try. Wynn converted to make the score 7-5. Middlebury came back to score two tries, one of which was converted, to give them a 17-7 lead with just minutes remaining in the first half. 

Keely Blyth managed to get wide and power her way through multiple defenders to score a critical try with a final defender hanging from her shorts as the half expired. Wynn was successful again and the half ended 17-14 in favor of the Panthers.

"At halftime, we knew we just needed to dig deep and come up with 40 more minutes of energy," said Hall. "Amanda Plachek was playing her last game and she did an outstanding job inspiring the team to draw from those energy reserves. There was no way she would allow this game to be won by Middlebury."

Adria Pickin, scored her first try for Norwich to put them ahead early in the second half. She received the ball from a well-executed backfield effort and sped her way to the try zone. With Wynn's conversion, the score was 21-17.  Ryder, who had three tries on the day, sped in for her second of the match shortly after the Pickin score and gave the "Wick" a needed buffer. Wynn, who was perfect from the spot in this match, converted and the Cadets led 28-17. One last try from Middlebury on the final play ended the match at 28-22.

"An all-out exhausting effort from the team this weekend," said Hall. "We love to play rugby and that was evident for a good three hours today. I'm so impressed with our young players who have moved into starting roles this spring. When you have freshmen scoring all the tries against a tough Middlebury team and nine more freshmen contributing in major ways around the field, you feel good about your team and the direction of your program. I hope these young players will continue to work hard and develop into elite level players. Dartmouth is going to be a great final test for this team this year."

The Cadets (11-7) cap their spring season rugby at 12 p.m., on Saturday, April 25 at Dartmouth College.