No Helmets, No Pads, Just Guts

Amherst-This past weekend the Plymouth State Women’s Rugby Club placed second in the 2004 Northeast Women’s Division II Rugby Championship. Due to snow covered fields and a wind chill below zero, Saturday’s matches were postponed until Sunday and games were shortened to 30 minute halves instead of 40 minute. This slight delay didn’t bother Plymouth one bit. They took the day to practice one last time and to focus on Sunday’s matches. By 10 am Sunday morning, when Plymouth was ready to take on Geneseo, (from upstate NY) most of the snow was gone, the sun was out, and Plymouth was pumped to play. There was a lot riding on this game but that didn’t seem to bother either team as they advanced onto the field for the opening kickoff. Both teams knew that without a win here they weren’t moving on and that made everyone very dangerous. Two minutes into the game, Andrea Clarke received a pass from the line and scored, giving Plymouth the early lead of 5-0. Adrienne Acosta and Jenny Larochelle followed Clarke’s example, and they each tallied five more points for Plymouth. Then with another run by Andrea and two extra point kicks by Meaghan Callahan Plymouth was in control of the game 24-0. Geneseo wasn’t sure what to do with themselves as their scrum was getting over powered by Plymouth’s superior strength. The nerves had melted away to unleash a confident and determined Plymouth team. It appeared as if no team could stop them once they were in the flow of the game. Halftime came and went without any problems or lapse in intensity. Plymouth came out even harder which proved to be a bad thing because people were getting anxious and causing penalties. But once again, Plymouth pushed up the field and Callahan snuck around the outside to cross the tryline herself. She then expertly kicked for extra points and made it. The team was ecstatic and rallied around her to show their appreciation and then the game continued. The rest of the game consisted of Geneseo driving down the field and Plymouth stopping them and bringing the ball right back. Neither team made headway, and when the final whistle blew Plymouth was the winner 31-0. Now they had to focus on the championship where they would be taking on Providence yet again. As Plymouth began warming up for their final match of the season hopes were high. This was the game they had been waiting to play. It’s what they’d worked for in all their practices. It’s what they dreamt about at night; a shot at beating out Providence in the Northeast Championship, and in doing so, qualifying themselves for a run at the national title. Plymouth was primed and ready to take the field with the days two objectives in mind; have fun and play with your heart. Looking out at the field as the two teams prepared for kickoff you could just see the determination on each girl’s face. This was going to be a dogfight the whole sixty minutes. Sure enough as soon as Plymouth kicked, off the whole team descended on Providence like a swarm of bees as they all jockeyed for that coveted first tackle. Tackles were made and rucks were formed as both teams tried to make their way down the field with no success. The two teams were just to evenly matched for the game to tip in favor of one team. Each team captain encouraged their side to keep driving and to never give up. Unfortunately, Providence began to mount a strong offense that over powered the Plymouth defense and methodically worked there way down the field. This drive resulted in Providence’s first five points of the game and started a fire under Plymouth. No way was Providence going to take this game away from them and they proved it within the next ten minutes. With the words of ‘no regrets’ echoing in their ears the Plymouth squad made their move. The scrummies drove Providence back and back with all there might and then got the ball out to Ashley Hokanson. Ashley quickly made the decision to spin the ball out wide because that is where she saw a break in the Providence defense. Needless to say she was right and the ball found it’s way into Kate Fuller’s outstretched hand as she easily crossed the tryline and tied the game going into the half. At halftime only words of encouragement were spoken because there was nothing that needed to be fixed. Both teams were doing everything they could to take home the win and it was going to come down to the final minutes of the game to determine the winner. Once again the stalemate continued with one team getting a slight advantage and then the other team driving them back. Suddenly the Providence scrum picked up the pace and drove Plymouth back all the way to the tryline and scored. With the game time ticking away Plymouth was feeling the pressure to score. Everyone dug there cleats into the mud a little deeper and into there hearts even more to get that final push. But Providence kicked and increased their lead by three more points. You could see the disappointment on the Plymouth faces but it didn’t affect there game. They played harder and gutsier then before in hopes that the time wouldn’t run out before they had a chance to score. But alas, the whistle blew and the game was over, Plymouth 5 and Providence 13. The Plymouth ruggers stood dumbfounded on the field in disbelief. How could this have happened after they had all played so well? They had given their all and so there were no regrets as they stumbled off the field. Their coach Spencer immediately engulfed the whole team in a bear huge and the team stood in silence trying to understand what had just happened. It was a great game and everyone played their hearts out and that’s all anyone could expect. The girls had a wonderful season and they can’t wait to get back out there in the spring. Thanks for your support all season long-we really appreciated it.