POUGHKEEPSIE, NY - The Vassar lineup that took the field today had just 6 starters from the Fall lineup. In the back division Danny White played 15, Katie Canavan, usually at hooker, played 12 and Sabine Weil and Zoe Lynch were the halfbacks. The latter were formerly 13 and 10 respectively but went to 10 and 9. Up front Andie Authers and Julia Wolff played their usual positions. The team played with a lot of energy and enthusiasm and seemed to really enjoy every minute.

Vassar College Women 34 v 15 Hudson Valley Women 
Tries: Zoe Lynch (2), Danny White (1), Nadya LaMarr (2) & Andie Authers (1).
Cons: Zoe Lynch (2).

It seemed that everyone was excited to play this game despite the cold wind. In stark contrast to the previous day conditions were dry and the field firm but not hard. What followed was an absorbing contest with both teams creating chances.

Vassar knew that the opposition would play a 1-3-3-1 system and although Hudson Valley were short handed and two thirds of the team was not familiar with it, the visitors put up a good fight for 60 minutes. In fact, at around the 50 minute mark Hudson Valley took the lead 15-12.

Hudson Valley dominated the opening 12 minutes or so and went through multiple phases of play but struggled to make any significant breaks and most of this play was between their own 22 and the halfway line.

Vassar finally got the ball and inched its way into the 22. But a couple of dropped passes and some infringements allowed Hudson Valley to clear the danger. Former Vassar fullback, Claire Zickl, was at 15 and did a good job all day of kicking to touch.

Vassar's Maddie Sumrow had an impressive afternoon, generally making line breaks when receiving the ball. The Vassar pack ran wide and punched holes in the Hudson Valley defense and eventually Zoe Lynch nipped over from close range to give the Brewers the lead, 5-0.

Becca Middlen also was popping up frequently and carrying the ball well. From the restart Vassar definitely buoyed by their first try played with confidence and drive that led to the forwards getting the team upfield and when the ball was swung out to the backs VCs Danny White slithered through with good footwork and dived under the posts. Lynch converted and it was a solid looking 12-0.

But the Hudson Valley XV had other ideas and despite another big Vassar foray into the 22 the locals held firm. The Vassar players must've wondered whether missed territorial opportunities would come back to haunt them when Hudson Valley engineered their way into the 22 and Sam Tang dived in for the try. 12-5 was the score at half time and the Brewers were comfortable enough as long as the territorial dominance could be maintained.

However, a simple blindside move from the base of a scrum saw Leah Dourmashkin slip by two tacklers and all of a sudden it was a 12-10 game. The next 15 minutes was a period that the Vassar players will want to erase since a host of them dropped off easy tackles and it was clear that the focus and intensity had dropped off. From a scrum just 5 meters from the Vassar goal line a simple 8-9 move again produced a try. Hudson Valley led 15-12.

Vassar was stung into action and flyhalf Sabine Weil darted through a couple of gaps to put the Brewers deep into the Hudson Valley half. Some decent continuity allowed for Tate Wagner to burst through and when just short of the goal line the ball came to scrumhalf Lynch who dived over. Vassar was back in front at 19-15.

The momentum had swung back to the home team and what followed was a credit to the forwards for recycling the ball well. Nadya LaMarr scored 2 tries and Andie Authers scored Vassar's 6th try and the team had closed out the game. 19-15 became 24-15, then 29-15 and finally 34-15.

Team: 15 Danny White 14 Nadya LaMarr 13 Maddie Sumrow 12 Katie Canavan 11 Foster Schrader 10 Sabine Weil 9 Zoe Lynch 1 Emma Niehaus 2 Becca Middlen 3 Andie Authers 4 Zoey Ojalvo 5 Julia Wolff 6 Kiki Takata 7 Kaitlyn Sostre 8 Tate Wagner. 
Subs: Freya Braiker for Kaitlyn Sostre.

Overall Record: 12-4-0.

Next: Sunday March 31, 2024 versus the University of Massachusetts at Vassar College Farm, kick-off: 1:00 pm