KINGSTON, R.I. – A beautiful autumn day in Rhode Island played host to the women's rugby team winning their ninth match of the season and their 13th straight overall. Rhode Island proved a tougher opponent than previous conference matches and the Cadets' composure was put to the test.
Senior flyhalf Emily Baugus (Kingsville, Texas) opened scoring at the seven-minute mark with a penalty kick, to put the Cadets up 3-0. For the next 15 minutes, the Cadets controlled much of the possession and territory, but multiple handling errors and sturdy defense from the Rams prevented additional scores.
At the 22nd minute mark, Norwich earned a red card for infringement at the breakdown. This card gave the Rams a player advantage for the remaining 58 minutes of the match. The Rams upped their energy with the player advantage and spent 10 minutes equalizing play.
Freshmen center Ally Day (Gorham, Maine) finally struck through the defense after a good pass from senior center Corinne McElroy (Canaan, N.H.) and opened up the score at the 32nd minute mark. Baugus converted and the score was 10-0. Taking advantage of the momentum swing, Norwich tagged on two almost immediate tries from Day and McElroy at the 35 and 37 minute marks. The half ended 24-0.
The second half brought on more of the same physical play from both sides and more of the same handling errors from the Cadets. Day raced in for her third try on the day 17 minutes into the second half. Four minutes later, URI was able to convert a penalty kick to score the first three points scored against Norwich in conference play this year.
Sophomore scrum-half Emily Oor (Uxbridge, Ontario) scored a try in the 28th minute , followed by a Baugus drop-goal in the 34th. Junior fullback Rose Bernheim (Andrews Home AFB, Idaho) tagged on a final tally as the clock expired. Final score Norwich 48 – Rhode Island 3.
"So much credit goes to the women from Rhode Island," said NU head coach Austin Hall. "They played tough for 80 minutes and never gave up. We really struggled to find our game. We'll be back with a renewed passion this week at practice as we seek to improve our performance over the final four weeks of fall season."
Norwich travels to Boston University for a night game at 7:30 Saturday night.
Tries: Day-3, Bernheim, Oor, McElroy
Conversions: Baugus – 6/6
Penalty Kicks: Baugus – 1/1
Drop Goals: Baugus – 1/1
Line-up: 1 – Ferrer (Weeden), 2 – Annis, 3 – Zaweski (Mills), 4 – Blankenship (McGuire, Gunn), 5 – Weppner, 6 – Champagne (Mundell), 7 – Bell, 8 – Derocher, 9 – Oor, 10 – Baugus, 11 – Clark, 12 – Day, 13 – McElroy, 14 – Vogt (Colesworthy), 15 – Bernheim
Half: 24-0 Norwich
Final: 48-3 Norwich
