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The Bentley Women’s Rugby team hosted Wheaton last weekend and while it was not pretty it was still a win. The team was coming off a dominating game over Tufts in which the A-side won 34-5 and came into the game looking for another dominating win. Instead they received an effort from a tireless Wheaton Squad that played hard to the last whistle.
Sunday’s game was more frustrating than anything as the Falcons could not get the timely pass or run needed throughout the game. Head Coach Chip Auscavitch commented on the teams play, “We prepared pretty hard for the game today, but you could tell right away during warm-ups that the team just was not in it. I do not know if it’s because it’s a rainy Sunday or what. During the first half the opposition had about 30 penalties and we just could not capitalize. We did have a much better effort however in the second half. This is a game we wanted to win by a lot and we will just have to go back to the drawing board.”
The Falcons led 7-0 at halftime thanks to a try by Captain, Brittany Kelley (BK). She forced her way through the tackle to score down the right hand side. The try was Brittany’s first of the season and was set up on a nice run by Ari Willet, who got possession on the free kick by Wheaton. Devan Rousseau made the extra points kick to make it 7-0.
When Joleen Sheuh was asked to describe today’s game she summed it up into one sentence. “When things get tough, we still soldier on.”
There were many times in which the Falcons looked poised to score with good pressure but were unable to get that one good pass or break a tackle to put it in past the goal line. With three minutes remaining in the first half, Bentley got the ball to the Wheaton goal line but could not put it in. That attempt was initiated by gaining possession off a scrum deep in Wheaton territory.
Sometimes though all you need is a great defensive play to get the team going. The play of the game was made by #3 Danielle McDonagh. The Falcons booted the ball into Wheaton territory and McDonagh was in for the tackle as soon as the Wheaton player picked the ball. This tackle forced a turnover and eventually with momentum on the Falcons side a try, punched in by Jenni Houde, to make it 12-0. Houde has now scored 6 tries on the season. Rousseau made her second extra point kick of the game to make it 14-0 Falcons.
The Falcons used all of the playbook to get past the Thunder. One play attempted towards the end of the second to shift moment were, “quick throw-ins”. Chip explained that these throws are “a soccer style throw-in for, when the ball is kicked out. It allows you to not have to wait for a lineout to form. Instead you can pick the ball up and throw it right in to a teammate. It’s a pretty exciting play if executed correctly, and we did it pretty well both times we tried it.”
It is plays like these which are giving the Falcons the upper edge with smart and strategic play calling. Chip is always testing his player on and off the field of why certain plays are called. He is using every second of time he is with the girls to teach them to be better, smarter players instead of waiting for practice.
Two players which have been seeing more playing time on the A-side are freshmen Jamie Carrillo and Gillian Pennington (Gilly). Both got into the game in the second half and look to be improving with every chance given.
Danielle McDonagh had a tough knee injury during the summer league and came back from her injury to play 40 minutes against Tufts and 60 minutes against Wheaton. This helped “soften the blow” of losing Cassie McMillan for the season during practice prior to the Tufts game.
The Falcons key standout Katie Cavanaugh re-aggravated her knee during the game. Her status is unknown but does not look good for the next game October 5th at Plymouth State. The Falcons next home game is October 10th against Wentworth at 7pm.
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