The West Chester women’s rugby team ended last season on their most difficult, heart-breaking defeat of the year. In a rematch of the 2008 consolation round in the NCAA tournament, West Chester took on UCLA after their loss to No. 1 ranked Army. In ’08, the Lady Rams came back in extraordinary fashion to end their season on a good note. This past year, the Rams were on the defeated end of a valiant comeback.
West Chester started the game in the hole, as UCLA scored and converted a try, taking a 7-0 lead. The Golden Rams struck back though, scoring two trys and converting one to take a 12-7 lead into the half.
The second half was much slower, as a battle back and forth produced a scoreless first 20 minutes. Late in the half though, the Bruins managed a try, tying the game up at 12 and sending the game into overtime.
The first ten minute overtime period showed no score by either side. WCU was the first team to break the 12-12 tie, as Anna McGlade made it a 17-12 game in the second overtime. Three minutes later though, UCLA evened it out once again, pushing the game into a third overtime.
An injury for West Chester, plus a limited roster, made so that substitutes were unavailable. Playing an extra thirty minutes, the tired and weary West Chester squad was unable to keep up in the final overtime. They surrendered a try in the last minute of play, falling to the Bruins by the final score of 22-17.
On a higher note, a group of West Chester players tried out for the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union All-Star team in late May. Of the 24 spots on the team, West Chester University players captured seven of them, making up over a quarter of the team.
These players were Mary Bocchino, Sara Glick, Madeline Kriebel, Megan Lamm, Kate Rada, Emily Reifsnyder, and Sasha Stauffer. Brianne Feinour was chosen as one of the six traveling reserves.
Ryan Frisco is a third-year student majoring in Communication studies. He can be reached at RF648257@wcupa.edu.