Plymouth State University Women’s Rugby team traveled down to Sanford, Florida this past weekend to compete in the D2 National Rugby semi-finals. The girls were teeming with anticipation and prepared to play two of their biggest games this year.
Plymouth State arrived in Florida Thursday night to prepare for the two games they would be playing that weekend. The girls knew the only thing standing in their way to the national title would be getting used to the temperature and humidity of central Florida. Their first opponent, the Southern-Californian Claremont College, already had that to their advantage, and Plymouth knew they’d be in for a grudge match against the tournament veterans.
The girls came to the field rested, and hydrated to play Claremont. The game consisted of perfectly-executed plays by the back line, and Hillary Scheer came through with the greatest kicking game in her career, nailing a conversion kick and two penalty kicks. Though the back line didn’t get the ball very much being a mostly scrummie game, Scheer also had the chance to assist Jamie Howard in running a special 12 form play allowing Howard to score a try for the Plymouth side. Among other scorers of the game were Adrienne Acosta, who scored two try’s, and Meg Kennedy scoring in support. When all was said and done, Plymouth came away with the 30-20 win, sending Claremont into the losers bracket and putting the northeastern champs one step closer to the final stage.
Already a little battered and bruised from Claremont, Plymouth came to the field Sunday ready to play an even tougher game against University of Maryland, a school with the population of over 30,000 students who came ready to defeat underdog Plymouth State. The odds, however, meant little once play began, as Jenny Larochelle made apparent with an interception off Maryland’s offensive back line to score early. Maryland tried to come back strong, but Plymouth’s speed and ability to read their plays left the favorites stunned throughout the game. Among other scorers of the game were Ashley “Jack” Daniels, Jamie Howard, Kelly Williams and Adrienne “Ace” Acosta, while Hillary Scheer came through again with her golden boot to convert two more kicks. Plymouth still managed to perform excellent rucks and strong scrums against Maryland’s intimidating athleticism, only adding to northeastern team’s surprising display. Even Rene Llavoie played an excellent game for Plymouth, winning all of Plymouth’s line outs and much of Maryland’s despite injuries to her hand. Towards the end of the second half Maryland began to give up, letting Plymouth cap the 34-12 upset.
According to USA rugby officials, “Plymouth State wasn’t supposed to win.” Now, the small school from northern New Hampshire will move on to California to compete for the national title. Plymouth has proved that they are one heart, one team, and one family, and will show the west coast again just what Plymouth Rugby is all about when they compete at Stanford University in California next week. The final push for the championship begins May 5, when Plymouth takes on the University of California-Santa Cruz.