DWRC Qualifies For National Round of 16
The DWRC secured its 10th bid into the National Collegiate Division I Round of Sixteen with a come-from-behind win against an aggressive Cornell side. The 17-15 nail-biter was a hard-fought, gritty match in which both teams had everything to prove and the winner would receive the third and final seed from the Northeast into the “Big Show”. (Army beat Brown on Sunday to take the first and second seeds, respectively.)
Cornell encountered ferocious tackling from the opening whistle as Dartmouth, disappointed in its inability to contain a strong Brown offense in the semi-finals on Saturday (Brown 55-0), came out with an intensity that only increased as the game went on. The Big Red brought it’s own share of attitude, however, and managed to get on the board first at the nine minute mark after some back and forth play punctuated by tough defense from both teams. Cornell converted the #8 touch-down under the posts for a 7-0 lead.
Dartmouth kept the pressure on at the kick off and answered with an under-the-post #8 touch-down of it’ own, though kicker Ginna Roach ’12, returning to the pitch after a blood substitution moments before scoring, missed on the attempt at converting her own try. Standout Second Row Vanessa Mercado ’12 was lost shortly after this when she broke her nose in one of several fierce DWRC goal line stands, followed by team “rock” and starting tighthead prop, Claire Scott ’11, when chronic shoulder problems resurfaced after a tough scrum. First-year replacements Mayowa Willoughby and Taylor Johnson stepped in with equal determination and confidence, though, boding well for the DWRC future as they joined classmate and starter Ally Murray in the pack.
Cornell increased the lead to 10-5 with a well-struck penalty kick just before half.
Dartmouth made a costly error in the opening minutes of the second half, as a mis-kicked punt for touch at Cornell’s 40 meter was handled quickly by the Cornell forwards and delivered out to their strong #13, who broke up the middle and managed to get the ball out wide for a winger try in the corner. The conversion bounced off the uprights and the score stood at 15-5.
At this point, The Big Green Machine rumbled alive and the rise of intensity from the DWRC squad was palpable to all present. Several great offensive series were stopped short by The Big Red’s solid tackle-and-poach technique. But the DWRC persevered and found space in the corner on a blindside attack by #15 and Captain Kristen Liu ’11. The conversion from the edge fell short, and the DWRC still needed a converted try to win. With just five minutes left in the match, center Meg Thorn ’11 dove over the try line after a series of offensive assaults and Cornell penalties put the DWRC once again into the green zone. The score stood at 15-15, and #10 Val Hanson sailed a drop-kick through the uprights for what would be the winning points. Cornell had one more opportunity to score as the DWRC lost control of the Big Red kickoff, but Dartmouth was not about to go home without a win and ended the match with an exhausting but satisfying goal line stand, which included thwarting a Cornell penalty at the 5 meter line. Flanker Theresa Cassano ’12 lead the forwards with an aggressive defensive game, and forwards’ Captain Grace Dowd ’11 was heroic in the home stretch. Center Ashley Afranie-Sakyi ’12 made some outstanding tackles and runs against Cornell’s biggest backline threat, and flyhalf Val Hanson TH ’11 ran a bold offense punctuated by great passing and kicking. Second row Mel Pastuck ’11 also played an inspired game, and first-year flanker Taylor Johnson made some outstanding tackles.
Saturday, November 13, 2010 Brown 55, Dartmouth 0
With several starters returning from injuries, the DWRC expected a better showing than its league match against Brown (42-7). But Brown had improved and was well-prepared, and the returning Dartmouth players were not fit enough and had not worked together enough during the interim weeks. Set pieces were evenly matched, but Brown dominated both offensive and defensive play in the open, capitalizing time and again on their ability to recycle more quickly, running at pace on offense and coming up hard and well-organized on defense.
The Bears got on the board with two converted tries twice in the first 10 minutes of the match, working up the middle first with standout #10 Chelsea Garber and then with an intense forwards attack off of a short line. The DWRC then managed to hold them scoreless for the remaining 30 minutes of the first half, but was unable to get any offense of its own going.
Brown got it into gear in the second half, however, and caught the Big Green defense flat-footed long enough to score seven more tries. Garber converted 4 of 9 tries for the final score of 55-0. Dartmouth never gave up, working hard to adjust the defense throughout the match. The DWRC looks forward to this winter’s work of getting faster, stronger, more fit, and more organized in order to compete against teams like Brown in the National Tournament this spring, where a low seeding will match The Big Green up against National powerhouses Penn State or Stanford in the first game of pool play.