What a difference a year makes…
This time last year in the corresponding game the Marist College Women hosted Vassar and put a whipping on them to the tune of 53 points! So it was with a good deal of apprehension that the 2014-15 Brewers took to the field in front of family and friends. The team photograph had been taken earlier and one has to assume that nobody wanted to look at the image in years to come and be reminded of a loss, for what followed was a very competent display.
 
Vassar College Women 37 v 5 Marist College Women
Tries: Cierra Thomas (2), Kathleen Gould (2), Anne Fritzson (1), Meg Slattery (1), & Nathalie Freeman (1).
Cons: Mary Margaret McElduff (1).

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (Septmeber 14, 2014) - In what has always been a hard hitting local derby game, it was nip and tuck for the first 25 minutes of the match. Vassar would put together 3 or 4 phases but then Marist would gain possession and gee whiz did they look dangerous. The visitors might have had an early score but for a forward pass spotted by the keen eye of referee Joe Burpoe however, on a couple of other occasions the Vassar cover defense did the job. Twice in the first half Vassar fullback Laila Blumenthal-Rothchild made good tackles as the last defender. In fact the Vassar defense was up for this game given the history!
 
Marist was at their most effective with turnover ball and they found runners in open space. This led to good field position but a couple of determined runs from Cierra Thomas and Meg Slattery were like jail breaks and Vassar worked their way to the other end. Thomas in particular had one of her best games ever in a Vassar jersey. She tackled with ferocity, dived on the loose ball, and ran with conviction. She was rewarded over the course of the game with 2 tries and it was she who scored first for Vassar.
 
The Vassar forwards to a woman were piling into the rucks and making good yards carrying the ball. Try as they might to rip the ball and poach Marist was not able to get many turnovers. Taylor Nunley made significant line breaks but it was the entire pack working as a unit that shone. After multiple phases the ball went down the back line but the final pass went loose. Vassar players did recover and recycle it and Thomas picked like the flanker she wants to be and sliced through the Marist defense.
 
From the restart Vassar won ruck after ruck and marched down the field with only a couple of minutes remaining in the half. Following a couple of scrums it was so fitting that Kathleen Gould scored from close range for she epitomized the collective effort of the team. Mary Margaret McElduff was having an off day from the tee so the score at the half was 10-0.
 
The second 40 minutes would be testimony to hard work and discipline as Vassar kept things simple and was effective. The forwards continued to assert their authority and Vassar monopolized possession. Wave after wave of Vassar ball carriers made hard yards and Marist retreated slowly. It was again that woman Gould who dived in for the score and now Vassar had a 2-score margin at 15-0. Marist was struggling to cope with being constantly on defense and even when they did get the ball they were being forced back. Sophia Rutkin was perfecting her panini press to good effect and the line speed of Vassar was good. Blindside wing Anne Fritzson scored from close range and with Mary Margaret McElduff on target it was now 22-0. But the Brewers lost Molly Osborn to a knee injury and Mary Margaret McElduff was also replaced with Lizzie Berridge and Lauren Workman coming on.
 
Vassar gathered the restart and within a minute Cierra Thomas went bursting through and past multiple potential tacklers to make it 27-0. Further tries from Meg Slattery, another tireless worker who had switched from flanker to flyhalf, and then Nathalie Freeman capped a good team performance. Generally ball placement had been superior and the attitude throughout very focused. Marist did garner a consolation try at the end when they turned over a ball and then moved it wide but it was little consolation for the Red Foxes.
 
Vassar travels to SUNY-Cortland next weekend and will want to continue to do the basics as well as they did today.
 
Team: 15 Laila Blumenthal-Rothchild 14 Anne Fritzson 13 Tamasha Persaud 12 Cierra Thomas 11 Molly Osborn 10 Mary Margaret McElduff 9 Yael Schwartz 1 Darienne Jones 2 Kathleen Gould 3 Mariah Ghant 4 Sophia Rutkin 5 Leigh Yakubowski 6 Taylor Nunley 7 Nathalie Freeman 8 Meg Slattery. Subs: Lauren Workman for Molly Osborn, Elizabeth Berridge for Mary Margaret McElduff.
 
Record: 2-0
 
Next week: Sunday September 21^st, 2014 at SUNY-Cortland kick-off 12:00 p.m.
 
Vassar Rookies Show Promise
It was wonderful to finally have a "B" side game and to watch the future start to take shape! The Vassar Women took on a SUNY-New Paltz XV and did themselves proud. In a tight contest they led 7-5 at the half but eventually fell just short as time ran out on their efforts. But there was plenty to rave about given the structure they imposed in the first half and next week should see huge improvements.
 
Vassar College Women "B" 12 v 5 SUNY-New Paltz Women XV
Tries: Jyen Wong (2).
Cons: Ellen Quist (1).
In the first half the New Paltz team had a better start and after a couple of missed tackles went up 5-0. But the Brewers were effective winning rucks as time passed and it allowed Jyen Wong to snipe around a ruck at close range for a 7-5 lead. Ellen Quist kicking the conversion. This was the first rugby game for a number of the Vassar team so here is a shout out to some of the rookies: Aja Dunn made a couple of open field tackles that made her look like a veteran; Michelle Urrutia also tackled and ran well before injuring her knee and being forced to leave the field; Jyen Wong showed she is a good tackler and potentially a good number 9; Andrea Ramsay was decisive and committed in attack and defense; Sarah Mawhinney made a couple of line breaks; Elaina Peterkin showed great composure and made some tackles; Min Chen lurked offside but when she did get the ball she darted forward effectively; Monica Difort did not have much opportunity but she survived; and Michelle Broomes ran intelligently showing an eye for a break. When Teresa Stout and Skye Damon came on they were both prepared to mix it up and so one has to say that the future is bright.
 
The key for these players will be to gel as a team and aspects of the game will come clearly into focus. Roll on next week.
 
Team: 15 Aja Dunn 14 Andrea Ramsay 13 Min Chen 12 Michelle Urrutia 11 Monica Difort 10 Ellen Quist 9 Jyen Wong 1 Lizzie Bennett 2 Yasani Spencer 3 Nicole Steele 4 Elaina Peterkin 5 Lauren Workman 6 Sarah Mawhinney 7Elizabeth Berridge 8 Michelle Broomes. Subs: Teresa Stout for Lauren Workman, Skye Damon for Yasani Spencer.

- Head Coach Tony Brown