Poughkeepsie, NY - The Vassar Women opened their 2024-25 season account with a solid six try victory over Ivy Leaguers Yale University. The New Haven based visitors made the short journey to Poughkeepsie and the teams had picture perfect conditions with brilliant sunshine and a light breeze. There were plenty of lessons to take away from this season opener and given that every member of the squad got playing time next week should see plenty of improvement.

Vassar College Women 34 v 10 Yale University Women
Tries: Mette McKinney (1), Jude Robinson (2), Zoe Lynch (1), Sophia Bailey (1), Sam Tang (1).
Cons: Zoe Lynch (2).

The Yale University Women's Rugby program is improving as evidenced by their 7s success last spring and their outing today at Vassar. The enthusiasm and energy they brought to the field was impressive and throughout the 80 minutes they stuck to their tasks of defending phase after phase and when in possession moving the ball to the outside. The Yale Women were rewarded with two tries, one in each half, and can hold their heads high.

Vassar can feel pretty good about the afternoon as well. Yes, there were some mistakes, such as a few knock-ons and some missed tackles, but generally there was structure, continuity  and good effort. One also has to bear in mind that personnel changes more often than not produce errors but on the whole the patterns were maintained and players stayed on script.

The forwards do need to be more ferocious and physical at the breakdown. Think street brawl! It's important that one adheres to the laws but certainly one can dish out a bit of physicality. The other major area that must improve is the speed of the defense. Both are easily fixed.

Mette McKinney continues to be rock steady in the lineout and defense and she collected the first Vassar try with a simple pick and drive or to more accurate pick and dive.  Jude Robinson is The Terminator! They thwarted a number of Yale runners one on one and for good measure crashed over for 2 tries.

The backs started a little bit nervously which was a surprise since there was no real pressure from the Yale defense. They laid much too deep and the timing of the strike runners was poor. The priority for the runners has to be catching the ball, yes at pace but always making the catch.

Up front Eleanor Jacoby had a good day at the office as did Samuel Tang. The latter needs to be more physical in the loose but both ran well and the former tackled anyone and everyone.

Hooker come center, Emma Niehaus showed strength in attack and is improving their tackling and it'll be interesting to see where she ends up.

Zoe Lynch got the Brewers on the board first after the halftime break when she alertly tapped and dived over. Then the try of the day was scored by Sophia Bailey as she slipped a tackle on the Vassar 22 and then darted down the field for 75 yards to score and put Vassar out of reach at 29-0. Sam Tang rounded off the day when he picked up a pass at his bootstraps and then launched over the line.

In the next couple of weeks the rookies will finally be at practice and the hope is they push the starters to be better. The vets must demonstrate good technique and rugby IQ and be an inspiration to their peers.

Team: 15 Jude Robinson, 14 Zoe Lynch, 13 Maggie Nealis, 12 Maddie Sumrow, 11 Leah Dourmashkin 10 Sabine Weil 9 Sophia Bailey 1 Andie Authers 2 Emma Niehaus 3 Eleanor Jacoby 4 Julia Wolff 5 Sam Tang 6 Mette McKinney 7 Tate Wagner 8 Yasmine Kassem Scott.

15 Sophia Bailey 14 Danny White 13 Ella Maniatis 12 Makaela Weldon 11 Lydia Hong 10 Zoe Lynch 9 Leah Dourmashkin 1 Maritza Flores 2 Eleanor Jacoby 3 Nina Fishman 4 Kiki Takata 5 Zoey Ojalvo 6 Emma Niehaus 7 Mette McKinney 8 Tate Wagner.

15 Jude Robinson 14 Foster Schrader 13 Maggie Nealis 12 Maddie Sumrow 11 Leah Dourmashkin 10 Zoe Lynch 9 Sophia Bailey 1 AC Smith 2 Eleanor Jacoby 3 Freya Braiker 4 Julia Wolff 5 Ina Zaslavsky 6 Sam Tang 7 Kiki Takata 8 Tate Wagner.

15 Sophia Bailey 14 Danny White 13 Ella Maniatis 12 Emma Niehaus 11 Foster Schrader 10 Zoe Lynch 9 Leah Dourmashkin 1 Gus Pointer Mace 2 Eleanor Jacoby 3 Freya Braiker 4 Ina Zaslavsky 5 Sam Tang 6 Kiki Takata 7 Mette McKinney 8 Tate Wagner.

Record: 1-0-0

Next: Sunday September 15, 2024 Vassar College Women at Kutztown University KO 1:00 pm