BURLINGTON, Vt. - The Norwich University
women's rugby team won its fourth straight Western Conference title
with a convincing 47-5 victory over the University of Vermont on
Saturday. In a hard-hitting battle with their in-state rivals, the
Cadets put 19 points on the board in the first 10 minutes of play
and never looked back.
Junior wing Unna Lee got the scoring started when she turned the
corner on her opposition and raced in for the score in the second
minute of play. Sophomore flanker Hannah Bushey added the next
try, smartly attacking from a penalty restart. The try gives Bushey
a team-leading nine on the season.
Junior flanker Anita Moreno broke through the defensive line and
accelerated for 30 meters to touch down for the third team
try. The next two tries came from team captain and senior
center Clarissa Wynn. Wynn, who was 6-of-7 on conversions in
the match leads all Norwich scorers with 52 points on the season.
Taking a 33-5 lead into halftime, the Cadets refused to be
complacent. Sophomore center Katie Hathaway turned on the jets
for a powerful try through the middle of the defense early in the
second half. The final try of the day was quite possibly the try of
the match. Wynn broke the line and raced 50 meters towards the
try zone. Trailing her every step of the way were the Catamount
fullback and Norwich sophomore wing Adria Pickin. Just as the
fullback leapt to make a goal-line tackle, Wynn offloaded to Pickin
who went in for the try.
"Support, support, support," said NU head coach Austin Hall.
"We're all about support. We support each other over every
inch of the field and every bit of our success today was the
product of that relentless, aggressive support. We are right
where we want to be heading into the playoffs and we will put our
noses to the grindstone as we prepare for the tough competition
ahead."
The Cadets (5-0 NERFU, 9-3-1 overall), who are ranked No. 1 in
the nation by erugbynews.com, will be the No. 2 seed in the NERFU
playoffs. Norwich will host Bryant College (3-2 NERFU) in a
quarterfinal match on Saturday, Oct. 24. The two teams have
never met and a great match is expected.
