On February 18, 2012, the West Chester women’s rugby team took on the United States Naval Academy at an away game in Annapolis, Md.
The game started off slow, but picked up very quickly as the teams shook off the dust for the first game of their spring season. The highly physical game ended with a tie between both teams at 15 points each.
The first 30 minutes were scoreless as the teams ruthlessly battled it out, as West Chester held Navy down in their end. The first try took place at 33 minutes when a player from Navy broke through the line and scored. The first try for West Chester occurred about 46 minutes into the game as junior Katie MacLuckie sprinted down the field after a pass from MaryKay Heaton and dove into the try zone.
“[Heaton] committed the defender perfectly, leaving me room to run in for the try,” MacLuckie said. “It was nice to see all of the work we do at practice pay off in a game situation.”
West Chester scored again at the 66 minute mark and was made possible by captain Anna McGlade. The conversion was unsuccessful but the try brought the score to 10-10.
As the battle continued, the teams went back and fourth fighting it out for the top spot in the match. In the 75th minute, Navy scored for their third and last time bringing the score to 15-10 Navy. West Chester quickly evened the score as captain Beth Dimassa made it into the try zone at 79 minutes and thirty seconds. The game ended at an impressive 15-15 for both teams.
In the history of the West Chester women’s rugby program, when these two teams met, Navy has always come out on top. This is the first time that the game has ended in a tie. In the past few meetings, Navy has defeated West Chester by a large margin. The last time these two teams met was three years ago, and the score was 62-5. With Navy being ranked number 5 in the country, this game leaves an optimistic outlook for the rest of the season.
The West Chester women’s rugby team takes on Rutgers University March 3 at 11 a.m. at the Rutgers University campus.
Devon Petaccio is a third-year student majoring in communication studies with a film minor. She can be reached at DP749140@wcupa.edu.