The lady ruggers will kick off the day at Noon (EST), playing an abbreviated scrimmage.  The match will be the final tune-up contest before entering the playoff season.

Temple brings three teams to Happy Valley, with the 1^st XV taking the field at 1:15 PM (EST).  The fixture is the last scheduled contest for the Fall season.

Next, the men's squad will turn its focus towards its 7's game.  The Lions will look to qualify for the USA Rugby National Championship 7's tournament via the Big Ten 7's tournament (Nov. 10-11).

Having secured the regular season eastern-division title, the women will move to Elkhart, IN the following weekend (Nov. 3) for the Big Ten Universities Championship.

This past weekend the women traveled to West Point for a physically demanding game against Army in the freezing cold.  Easily the most challenging game so far for the fall season, physically and mentally. Penn State was put to the test from the starting whistle. 

The first half started slow for Penn State as they allowed Army to take a small lead.  This did not last long however, as the half ended PSU 17 - Army 14.

The second half, Penn State fought relentlessly while increasing their intensity and focus to hold Army at 14 while adding another 22 points to the board for blue and white. 

The game ended PSU 39 - Army 14 with tries for Penn State by forwards: Hope Rogers, Bitsy Cairns, Katrina Bodenschatz and Nadia Garnet.  Two conversions were made by Lauren Shissler.

The women will play again this Saturday following the parent brunch.  The opposing team is still undetermined at this time.

-by Casie Hoffman

Penn State's hard work so far this year seems to be paying off, displaying a hard physical defense and starving Delaware of possession. The team also showed a cohesive attack, with a nice interplay between forwards and backs in their relentless attack.

Joe Corrado, Dom DeFalco, Christian Backus, Blaze Feury, Kevin Kimble(2), Chris Vakasisikakala, Sam Lapaille, and VhinVuong all  made the score sheet, but it was definitely a whole team effort that kept Delaware out of this game. Freshman flyhalf Will Pazos was 5 for 9 on conversions, and 1 for 1 on penalty kicks for a personal tally of 13 points in his A side debut.

This coming Saturday the A-side men will square off against rival Army, at 6pm. The B and C-side teams will be playing a pair of matches against the country's newest varsity rugby program, Wheeling Jesuit, as curtain raisers for the Army game. Penn State will be looking to continue their success in their second to last week of games in this developmental season. Army vs Penn State is always a real barn burner, and this should be an incredible weekend with 3 matches and our annual fall recruit weekend all in store. We will definitely be looking for all of our fans, family, and friends to "fill the hill" for this big weekend!

Let's go State!

Submitted by Rugby Intern Kevin Casey.

There is nothing like traveling 8 hours for a match and having a bigger crowd of supporters than the home team.  Thanks to our parents for being there for us!  We appreciate all your help!!

Thanks, also, to our alumni that came out!  It was great to see you.

This past weekend saw the Penn State Women's Rugby Team take its inaugural BIG10 Rugby season on the road, traveling to the University of Michigan and Michigan State University.

The 7+ hours traveling on the bus, on Friday, may have led to a slow start for the Lady Lions, but the team quickly asserted their dominance Saturday morning against the University of Michigan, running in 8 unanswered tries.  Execution and handling were swift and clean, and their defense strong enough to turn a very physical U of M team away.

The 50-0 final score does not truly represent the pressure and fight that Michigan brought to the game.  Penn State was regularly under pressure at the breakdown, finding it hard to recycle quick ball at the rucks.  The strong Michigan forwards were adept at keeping the ball-carrier off the ground, and not allowing for good "go forward" in rucks.  The Penn State forwards also struggled under strong pressure from the U of M scrum.  We won most of our own ball but lacked the aid of being on the front foot.

The difference in the game was PSU's ability to attack the space left open by Michigan.  Great striking lines, good communication and determination to pass through the contact, along with a high pace of play, proved too much for Michigan.

Captain Kelsey Harris opened the scoring in the first half.  Bitsy Cairns, Kate Flanagan, Hope Rogers, and Lauren Barber rounded out the first-half scoring.

Michigan stiffened their defense and actually controlled possession for long periods of the second half.  This slowed Penn State's scoring opportunities to a trickle but both Kate Flanagan and Lauren Barber went over for their second tries of the day.  Bianca Dalal carried to final try of the A-side match, but Flyhalf Lauren Shissler had a good day with the boot - going 5 of 8 with conversions.

Penn State went on to win the Second-side match 22-0, starting a side filled with rookies (some playing their second game ever).  Tries were scored by Courtney Williams, Allison Ng, Bianca Dalal, and Taylah Pipkin.

A short ride after the match to East Lansing and the team began preparations for their Sunday match against Michigan State.

Correcting for the shortcomings in their play from Saturday, the Lady Lions were too much for a determined Michigan State Team.  The forwards were dominating in the scrums and the team devastating at the breakdown. 

The first half saw tries from Bianca Dalal (3), Annie Lucas (3),  Brie Barto, and Katrina Bodenschatz.  Lauren Shissler went 2 of 8 with first half conversions.

Second half tries were scored by Katrina Bodenschatz, Kelsey Harris, Nadia Garnett (2), Bianca Dalal (2), and Alanna Luzier.  Conversion duty was shared by Bianca Dalal and Hel Hoffman.

Final score PSU 96 - Michigan State 0

• Summer Rugby Academy (new to advanced) - June 23 - 27

• Advanced Skills Camp (experienced players) - June 27 - 30

• Combined (both camps) - June 23 - 30