POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (March 23, 2013) - Both teams were missing key starters due to injuries and illness but the Vassar forwards were in no mood to be messed with, particularly Shanaye Williams who had not traveled to Spain. She scored a wonderful try outpacing the Molloy number 13, not too shabby for a tighthead prop, and on a blustery cold morning the Brewers ran in 11 tries to thump Molloy College Women 61-5.

Vassar College Women 61 v 5 Molloy College Women
Tries: Shanaye Williams (3), Nichelle Jackson (1), Laura Howard (2), Tamasha Persaud (1), Dallas Robinson (3), & Darienne Jones (1).
Cons: Hannah Bober (3).

The conditions were difficult for the teams and the cold windy weather made it had to catch passes that ordinarily would have been taken in stride. Vassar was under pressure for the first 10 minutes as Molloy gained good field position following the kick-off. But once the Brewers got the ball they always looked dangerous.

Williams open the try scoring with a fend and sprint from about 50 yards out and she figured prominently throughout the game as Molloy found her difficult to bring down. In fact, she scored 3 tries in all as did fellow forward Dallas Robinson. The latter was able to break tackles and showed great strength in contact.

Nichelle Jackson scored number 2 after a tap penalty play and try number 3 came when fullback Luara Howard broke a tackle and ran well from a good pass delivered by Hannah Bober.

While the forwards were punching well off the fringes there was a real buzz about the backs. Bober had Chelsea Boccagno at 12 and Cierra Thomas at 13. Thomas looked sharp and made a huge tackle on one of the Molloy forwards that brought a big wince from all the spectators. Nicole Guererro scored twice and she worked hard all game at the base of the scrum.

A big cheer went up for Darienne Jones when she scored her first try. She is a bright star and one of Vassar's best tacklers.  Special mention is also due Rachel Thompson as she is playing hooker and doing an admirable job.

Bober was able to get the ball going forward and it meant that she was able to link well with fullback Howard.

Molloy scored a good try to close the gap some at 17-5 but they were unable to get any good ball as their forwards were under a lot of pressure from the Vassar pack.

There will be tougher games ahead that's for sure but Vassar can take heart from the fact that they played well as a team.

Team: 15 Laura Howard 14 Tamasha Persaud 13 Cierra Thomas 12 Chelsea Boccagno 11 Nora Kaye 10 Hannah Bober 9 Yael Schwartz 1 Nichelle Jackson 2 Rachel Thompson 3 Shanaye Williams 4 Patty Walton 5 Darienne Jones 6 Sandy Pogarcic 7 Dallas Robinson 8 Nicole Guerrero. Subs:  Shira Idris for Hannah Bober, Leigh Yakubowski for Nora Kaye.

Next: Saturday 30 March, 2013 at Columbia University Women, Baker Field, K.O. 6:00 p.m.