POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (April 24, 2010) -- Playing the second half of Saturday's game shorthanded, the Vassar College women's rugby team dropped a 41-12 decision to Marist College in the Brewers' final game of the season at the Farm.

After the thrilling win last week the Vassar women were on the receiving end this beautiful Saturday afternoon. Local rivals Marist College drove the short distance to the The Farm and won in convincing fashion on the scoreboard. But the Vassar few can hold their heads high as they battled right to the end and given that they played with just 13 players for almost the entire second half this was a rearguard action worthy of comparison to Davy Crockett and his last stand at The Alamo. Out of bullets and with the enemy swarming around the end result was not in doubt but the Vassar team can take heart from their performance.

Vassar College Women 12 v Marist College Women 41
Tries: Laura Howard (1) & Krissa Wiechmann (1).
Cons: Kate Hancock (1).

For the third game in a row the Vassar Women took the field without 9 starters and with another 3 starters unavailable it was very much an under strength team that sought to combat Marist College.

Two early turnovers proved very costly as from broken play the Marist backs found room after feeble tackle attempts and they led 12-0. But Vassar got their act together and started to push forward being able to maintain possession. They were rewarded for their efforts when Laura Howard went over and it was 12-5. For the next 10 minutes and late into the first half it looked like Vassar would tie the game as they applied some good pressure. But again it was silly mistakes that allowed Marist to get the ball and score.

The forwards competed well and in the first half held a good edge in the rucks in the loose but they did struggle at the lineout. Last week against Siena it had ben the lineout ball won that had provided the platform for many attacks but this week it was not to be so.

The teams turned around at the half and within minutes Vassar lost try-scorer Howard and then Ami Major as they both took a tumble and hit their heads on the ground. Kim Beaudoin moved to prop and Lucy Cantwell went to center. Now Vassar was forced to play with 13 players and with no flankers Marist immediately scored from a scrum when their Number 8 picked and ran in untouched.

Vassar just wasn't able to take advantage of Marist errors and the absolute reverse was true of the visitors. For example, twice Vassar kicked-off and the ball was put into space in front of the Vassar pack with the Marist pack on the other side of the field! Yet a Marist player obtained the ball and beat several would-be tacklers to put Vassar on the back foot! Wave after wave of Marist runners came at the Vassar defense and it was a case of not will they score but when will they score!

That's not to say there weren't brave attempts and in particular Hannah Bober and Julia Nissen made hit, after hit, after hit! Lucy Cantwell while out into the backs had a darting run and the pack managed to win ball while being pushed back despite it being 6 v 8.

But once Marist had stretched the lead to 24-5 and Vassar was down to 13 the writing was on the wall. In the end Marist just bosched and bashed their way forward scoring at regular intervals. Vassar had the last word when Krissa Wiechmann deservedly went over and it finished 41-12.

This has been a brutally hard season for the women's team. This year was the first in 15 years that the team has finished with a losing record. In just 12 months they have gone from National Division I contenders to having a team of 15 who will play at the second division level next year. The freshmen have had it rough but still seem be enthusiastic. The seniors, both those who were injured and those who started playing rugby this year, have been wonderful. But so many injuries and lack of players has led to less meaningful practices, less competition for places, and in the end many losses.

The only way for Vassar to get back to being competitive, initially at the second division level, is to get a squad of 45 players. That may prove very hard to do as other attractions on campus seem to be dominating. The rise of Ultimate Frisbee and the addition of Track and Field as a varsity sport has undoubtedly hurt the rugby program. It's not that players have left rugby to do these activities, it's just that probably 4-5 each year would have tried rugby. In addition, the recruitment in the last 4 years was so poor that now even fielding an "A" side is difficult. The Alumni game next weekend will see the current team mixed with the former players as the current squad doesn't have 15 players!

Let's hope some of the current Vassar student body and the incoming class in Fall 2010 will want to give the sport a try and Vassar can work it's way back to being a winning program.

Team: 15 Sarah Fuentes 14 Celia Castellan 13 Laura Howard 12 Julia Nissen 11 Caitlin Bull 10 Hannah Bober 9 Jansyn Thaw 1 Krissa Wiechmann 2 Kate Hancock 3 Ami Major 4 Dana Hart 5 Mackenzie Morris 6 Kim Beaudoin 7 Lucy Cantwell 8 Mariko Yoshimura-Rank. Subs: None available - no replacements for Laura Howard or Ami Major.

Overall record 2009-10: 6-9-1.
Next weekend: Saturday May 1, 2010 The Alumni Game with combined teams - Kickoff 11:30 am