The women’s team (9-2-1) (6-0 Big Ten) took to the road for their 3rd straight week of travel to take on Big Ten opponents University of Michigan and Ohio State University along with USARugby DI Elite opponent Lindenwood University.
In spite of the challenging schedule and back to back games the women were able to finish the weekend with 3 solid team wins.
The Nittany Lions would need to defeat both OSU and UofM to keep a perfect record and the top seed in Big 10 East going into the Big 10 Championship weekend. With two must win games on Saturday and a very competitive game on Sunday, balancing the rosters and managing game time would be key to the teams success over the weekend.
Captain Cantorna pointed to team depth as integral to the wins, “This weekend showed that we have the flexibility to adjust to last-minute injuries and shuffle people into different positions without hindering team performance. Going forward, that knowledge and confidence in our newer players will be key and will ensure continued team unity as a cornerstone of our success.”
Senior Gabby Cantorna lead lead the team from flyhalf during the University of Michigan game and Freshmen Scrumhalf Ellie Fromstein worked tirelessly to keep the pace of the game high. PSU would play a lackluster first half but managed to have a 17-7 lead as the second half kicked off. The game would end 58-7.
Ohio State saw an improved first half performance and much improved defense as the game ended with a score of 53 – 0 and was the only recorded shut out of the weekend. Senior wing, Elaine Santiago, was instrumental playing out of position at outside center in finishing some long tries and running off her inside center effectively.
With a beautiful day of rugby at Ohio State University behind them, the team’s focus would turn to recovery and preparing for a tough match against DI Elite Lindenwood University.
Cantebury Player of the week, Freshmen Kayla Canett, played an outstanding game from Fullback, shutting down a number of outside breaks while Tess Feury’s boot and aggressive outside defense led to the first 13 pts of the game.
Lindenwood would answer back and the game would go into the half with Penn State leading by just 1 point, 13-12. Some impressive tactical kicking by the backs and a reinvigorated Penn State defense would lead to 30 unanswered points in the second half and a final score of 43-12.
Penn State heads to Mount Saint Mary’s in Emmitsburg Maryland for a friendly match against Varsity Champion Quinnipiac University kicking off at noon on Saturday before finishing the fall season at home on November the 12th for the Big 10 Championships.
You can follow the action live every weekend on twitter @PennStateWRugby and streamed @PSURugby on facebook.
