Geneseo Women’s Rugby ends their league season with a 4-1 record
Geneseo’s women’s rugby club after winning against the Le Moyne Banshees on Saturday, Oct. 14. (Courtesy of Aaron Honecker Photography)
On Saturday, Oct. 14, Geneseo’s women's rugby team played an exciting and rainy game against Le Moyne College. The Warthogs came out on top with a score of 34-0 and mercy ruled the Banshees within the first half of the match. The contest was their senior game which honored fly-half Hannah Reid, hooker Jillian Orr, second-row Rae Griffin, wing Nicole Petfield, and props Claire Bressette and Peyton Vanboden.
The match started strong in the first half with a try by Reid on a plunge over the try line. With support from the forwards, Reid was protected and pushed forward for the early score. A great run from junior outside center Alexandra Wallace offloading it to junior inside center Caitlin Schirmer led to one of Schirmer’s tries. After several good runs from sophomore Rachel Dennie, she finally broke through Le Moyne’s defense and scored a clean try.
The Warthogs’ momentum kept flowing as freshman wing Malene Comeau scored three tries within the first half, keeping her timing up and getting every offload for a quick try.
With only one collapse, the forwards kept the scrums stable, successfully kept possession of the ball, and got it out to the back line to run clean plays.
Junior hooker Sophia Weik stole seven scrums from the opposing team, one of which helped Comeau score one of her several tries. Weik struck the ball back through the front and second row before junior scrum-half Claire Lewis quickly gained possession and passed it to the back line for a quick and easy try.
The team kept possession of the ball well through powerful rucks from the forwards, and quick outs from Lewis that the Banshees did not stand a chance against. With penalty kicks from Reid, who gained more yards after toeing and sending it out to the back line for some plays and runs, the Warthogs wound up with multiple try scores to extend their lead.
On defense, the Warthogs kept posts to keep the opposition from gaining yards, as Le Moyne did not get the chance to score against the Hogs. With great tackles from players such as Wallace, junior flanker Maria Netto, and sophomore flanker Sophia Bobeck, the Banshees were kept at bay.
Later in the match, a line-out throw from Le Moyne was stolen by junior Maddie Sepcaru who ran towards the try line in a highlight play. Sepcaru, who gained yards as her teammates came to support her, prepared for an offload to protect the ball and kept possession.
In the second half, freshman flanker Gloria Hodge scored her very first try with the team after a good run and support from the rest of her forwards. Their defensive game did not dwindle as they continued to trounce Le Moyne with power tackles, impressive counter-rucking, and poaching. Freshmen and other rookies proved their skills as they ran up hard and tackled well to help keep Le Moyne off the scoreboard.
Sophomore second-row Stella Kahnis scored the first try of her rugby career as well, after getting helped and pushed over the line. Her try was met by a roar from her team on the sidelines and the large crowd which included Warthog Alumni.
Although the Warthogs league season has come to an end, they will continue to practice as a way for new players to get to know the game on a deeper level. The next time they play will be at home this Saturday, Oct. 21, in a scrimmage against Buffalo State with a time to be determined.