FAIRFIELD, CT - The Vassar College Women put up such a fight in the semifinal of the Tri-State Conference 7s Championship that it seemed the impossible was possible.
Inside 2 minutes of play, against a well-organized Columbia University 7 that had pace and shape, the Brewers were down to 6 players following a yellow card for what was deemed a high tackle. Just moments later, Columbia scored to take a 7-0 lead, and then another yellow card left Vassar with five players! When the first carded player returned within 10 seconds, another tackle brought a yellow card, the team's third and their second, so it was a red card for Porette!
Vassar played almost the entire game with six players or less! At no point did Columbia score when Vassar had seven players on the field!
Down 12-0, the Brewers had to dig deep, and they played their hearts out first, getting it to 12-7, then 12-12. Incredibly, Vassar took the lead in the second half with just their six players going up 17-12. They desperately tried to hold on and made tackle after tackle, being outnumbered. But 17-12 became 17-17, and the game went to sudden-death overtime.
Tri-State Conference Women's 7s Championship 2022
at Fairfield University
Saturday, April 9, 2022
Vassar College Women 32 v 7 Hofstra University Women
Tries: Emily Howell (3), Claire Zickle (3).
Cons: Claire Zickl (1).
Vassar swept aside the Hofstra Women, who showed they could tackle and prepared to get the ball wide. But the pace of Howell and Zickl was just too much for the Long Islanders.
Team: 14 Claire Zickl 12 Caeli Porette 10 Kasey Drake 9 Julia Busby 1 Sophia Florida 2 Emily Howell 3 Lauren Showalter. Subs: Hannah Thompson, Louise Ambler, Liz Slein.
Vassar College Women 34 v 0 Stony Brook University Women
Tries: Caeli Porette (2), Emily Howell (2), Liz Slein (1), Julia Busby (1).
Cons: Claire Zickl (2).
Vassar went with their most physical pack, and it was to counteract the solid physical SBU lineup. Vivika Sheppard, Sophia Florida, and Emily Howell dominated, and the excellent ball was well used by the very settled Vassar back division. It was good to see Liz Slein get on the scoresheet, for she had earlier mistaken the 22-meter line for the goal line! She is an exciting runner and will only improve as he further understands the game.
Team: 14 Claire Zickl 12 Caeli Porette 10 Kasey Drake 9 Julia Busby 1 Sophia Florida 2 Emily Howell 3 Vivika Sheppard. Subs: Lauren Showalter, Hannah Thompson, Louise Ambler, Julie Geller, Liz Slein.
Vassar College Women 26 v 0 Molloy College Women
Tries: Vivika Sheppard (2), Emily Howell (1), Izzy Snyder (1).
Cons: Julia Reigrut (3).
In the last group game of the day, Vassar faced Molloy College Women, a school that went Varsity just a few years ago, but then Covid struck, and they returned to club sport status. Izzy Snyder finally got a chance to show her speed, and she scored a classic wing try having been well served by her teammates. Julia Reigrut also had a good game and successfully with 3 of 4 conversions.
Team: 14 Izzy Snyder 12 Vivika Sheppard 10 Liz Slein 9 Julie Geller 1Julia Reigrut 2 Zoe Lynch 3 Emily Howell.
Tri-State Conference 7s Championship
Semifinal Game
Vassar College Women 17 v 22 Columbia University Women (OT)
Tries: Emily Howell (2), Claire Zickl (1).
Cons: Claire Zickl (1).
This was a game for the ages! Unchartered territory for all involved as it turned out when ill-discipline led to a game of 7 v 6. It had the card drama, a comeback from the dead, and desperation tackles by both teams.
Columbia University started well and made a clean break down the left wing before swinging the ball to the right where Vassar center Caeli Porette came screaming across to make a tackle. The referee judged it to be high, but it was harsh given that the arm did not make contact with the neck or head and the player was swung over. Review of the video suggests that it should have been a warning. But a yellow card was issued and Porette left the field. Vassar managed to hold their line as Columbia was just 5 meters out, but when the ball was swung wide, the extra player went over. Credit Columbia for finding the space.
From the restart Vassar failed to gather the ball and when Columbia threw a high pass Vivika Sheppard jumped up to try and catch it. The referee judged it to be a deliberate knock-on and it's hard not to give that card even though the height of that pass meant that the player had to jump straight up and it looked like a genuine attempt to catch the ball. But yellow card number 2 left Vassar with five players against the full 7 of Columbia. That's a big ask for any team!
Porette returned to the field and was only on for about 10 seconds! Covering across again, 3 Vassar players bundled the Columbia wing into touch, but again, Porette was deemed to have gone high - second yellow, so a red card.
The die was cast now and Vassar down 12-0 with 6 players for the rest of the match was staring defeat in the face. Emily Howell took a knock and went down so it was not looking good for the Brewers as they would need their talisman Number 8 to get back into this contest. Bravely Howell continued and in fact got a try when Busby and Zickl combined to link and it was 12-7 to Columbia.
At the half the Brewers regrouped and amazingly the 6 scored two tries to take the lead. It was Claire Zickl and Howell who made long runs and all of a sudden it was Columbia looking like they were on the ropes! Vassar led 17-12 but there was time to restart the game and Columbia took advantage. The Lions tied the match at 17-17 and the final whistle blew. Overtime was excruciating for the Brewers as they had a couple of half chances but then came a break from Columbia that went 60 plus yards. But it was not over yet as Julia Busby chased down the Columbia wing and dragged her down 10 yards short of the line! Could Vassar counter from here, was it possible? Alas no, Columbia managed to get the ball, and although there was another great defensive tackle, a try was scored. A cruel, cruel loss given that the entire second half Vassar had played with 6 and outscored Columbia 2 tries to 1. It had been an epic effort by all the players not just in this one game but over the course of the day. These Vassar players can hold their heads high given the adversity they faced and the effort they put in to every second of the contests.
Team: 14 Claire Zickl 12 Caeli Porette 10 Kasey Drake 9 Julia Busby 1 Sophia Florida 2 Emily Howell 3 Vivika Sheppard. Subs: Liz Slein.
Women's 7s record Spring 2022
A-side 9-1
B-side 3-2
Next: Saturday April 23rd & 24th, 2022, at The Beast of the East Tournament in Portsmouth, RI
Congratulations are due Columbia on winning this exciting game and Vassar looks forward to reviving this rivalry of the late 1990s and early 2000s when Vassar regularly played the Ivy League school in the Metropolitan New York Conference in 15s.
Columbia now has the opportunity to represent the Tri-State Conference in the American Collegiate Rugby Association 7s Championship on Sunday May 1, 2022 at the United States Coast Guard Academy. Columbia defeated Fairfield University in the final 22-5.
