BRUNSWICK, ME (November 8, 2008) -- Although the Vassar College women's rugby team managed to hold Army to one try, it could not get a score of its own, falling 7-0 in the Northeast Rugby Union (NRU) semifinal at Bowdoin College on Saturday. Army scored its one try late in the second half. Vassar needs to beat Dartmouth College in the third and fourth place game on Sunday in order to qualify for the Nationals.

The Vassar College Women's Rugby team traveled to Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine to compete for one of three National playoff spots this weekend. They earned a lot of praise for their day one exploits as they fell to Army by a single late score 7-0. The Brewers outplayed the cadets monopolizing the ball and earning a significant advantage in field position. But they couldn't punch over the score they needed and when the Army fullback ran three quarters of the field to score it was enough to earn them the win.

So on day two Vassar faced Dartmouth and again they struggled to score. In the end it was another close one and Vassar finished out of the playoff picture as Dartmouth prevailed 17-12.

Vassar College Women 0 v Army Women

The Vassar Women took the game right to the cadets up front with no frills. The forwards picked and drove around the rucks, they out-scrummaged the cadets and in the process they had the better of field position and possession. This was a game the men and followers of Munster would have truly appreciated.

The weather in Maine was in the 50s, grey skies, and there was some light rain. It made handling difficult and the surface was slippery. Army played their usual style pushing the ball wide but they dropped a number of passes and that allowed the Vassar forwards to assert themselves at the scrum. The first 5 minutes saw Army pinned in their own 22 but they eventually broke out when their fullback had a strong run up the left wing. However, at a scrum Vassar's Keri Peacock stole the ball at the base and sprinted away before being brought down and at the ruck Army was penalized. Vassar pushed forward but Army managed a turnover and kicked deep. Both teams were having difficulties holding on to the slippery ball.

After 15 minutes Vassar mounted a series of attacks down the right with Dani Goodman-Levy and Keri Peacock to the fore. The number 8 and scrumhalf used the blindside to good effect and kept Vassar in Army's half. In addition Meredith Kendall charged down a kick and the pressure on the Army halfbacks was paying dividends. Vassar lost hooker Natalie duRivage when she took a severe blow to the face and so lock Hannah Roth moved up and Suzanne Sweetnam came on. The weekend before, against UMass, Alana Melton had been re-injured so Roth was the third choice hooker for the Brewers. Roth handled matters well and was her usual feisty self around the field. Much of the remainder of the half was spent with Vassar picking and driving through the forwards and then Army kicking to try and get out of their half.

But the problem for both teams was creating clear cut scoring chances. So the half ended scoreless.

It was more of the same for Vassar in the second 40 minutes as the forwards, now even more confident in their strategy, bashed and battered their way through. It was in the 22 that the Army resistance stiffened and they defended their goal-line with big hits and counter-rucking. The Vassar forwards were like rabid dogs as they poured into and through the rucks. A couple of quick tap penalties saw Goodman-Levy go close and as the game went on one felt that one score might decide it and it looked like Vassar would be the scorer.

But in the 60th minute, following a ruck just outside the Army 22, the cadets went blind and the fullback beat the first line of defense. She then swerved infield beating the Vassar fullback and three other covering defenders to score under the posts. It was a moment of individual brilliance that had undone an hour of hard work.

Vassar responded in style and marched into the Army half making good yards. Army had a couple of line breaks at 10 and 12 but were hauled down and Vassar would grind downfield again.

The final 10 minutes of the game were spent in the Army 22 as Vassar desperately tried to get the score to tie matters. The winner would advance to Nationals and the effort was furious. They reached the goal-line but were held and it was a heartbreak at the final whistle to be so close and have given so much.

Team: 15 Lorraine DeGraffenreidt 14 Bridget Meade 13 Laura Redden 12 Julia Nissen 11 Jessica Lance 10 Alex Milne 9 Keri Peacock 1 Ami Major 2 Natalie duRivage 3 Mariko Yoshimura-Rank 4 Meredith Kendall 5 Hannah Roth 6 Alex Thom 7 Keke Hopson 8 Dani Goodman-Levy. Subs: Suzanne Sweetnam for Natalie duRivage.