4/26/2009 NRU U-23 Ladies (All Star Selection)

I had the pleasure of refereeing the selection tournament for the NorthEast U-23 Ladies in Amherst, MA.

The teams included the following:

MetNY
North (Maine/NH/VT)
East (Boston/RI)
West (NY, Western Mass, Conn)

The rugby was friendly as all the ladies were simply trying to show their skills to be selected.

One of my coworkers and clubmates with Albany was selected for the side and scored in the National Championship game....which the Northeast won with ease.

See the article here:

"Nevada is returning to Albany with a National Championship medal hanging
around her neck after the Northeast beat the Midwest yesterday 43-5.
Included in those 43 points was a try scored by Nevada- sweet!
On behalf of the club we just want to say congratulations and recognize
all of the hard work you put into making the NRU U-23 All-stars. When a
lot of us were taking a day off from rugby on Sundays this spring
season, you were putting in long hours at various try-outs and selection
games around the northeast. We're glad it paid off in a National
Championship for you.
-Lori and Jo
ps- Short article that re-caps the tourney below.
pps- Everyone owes Nevada a beer for scoring in a National Championship
match.

Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Northeast U23 women’s all-star team
categorically defeated the Midwest 43-5 to win the 2009 U23 National
All-Star Championships.

The NRU team won despite lacking many players from the top programs in
the region. Their roster did include two Brown players, along with
players from MIT, Vassar, Providence College, UMass, Monmouth, Marist,
New Paltz, Rutgers, Beantown, Albany, Syracuse, Northeastern, Stonehill,
Cornell, Worcester, and Southern Vermont.

“This was a fun team to coach,” said assistant Tony Brown, also
head coach at Vassar.

Ashley Snyder, who transferred to MIT from Air Force and is playing for
Beantown, played a huge role as she kicked out of hand and for goal very
well. Her kicking put the Midwest’s very quick back three under
pressure, thanks in large part to the Northeast chasers.

The pressure forced errors that led to Northeast scores.

The NRU pack managed to limit the Midwest forwards ability to dominate
possession, and the solid attacking platform led to an early 21-5 lead
for coach Rich Ashfield crew.

Snyder ended up with a try and 13 points from the boot.

In the Tier 2 finals, the eighth-ranked USA Under-20 Women held off a
West second-half comeback to win 24-23 and earn promotion to Tier 1 for
2010.

After trailing 20-10 at half, the West came back within one, but the
USA Under-20s wouldn’t be outdone, propelled by a speedy backline and
fullback Sadie Anderson, who led the charge for the USA team with two
tries.

In the Tier 1 Consolation, the Mid-Atlantic beat the Pacific Coast
20-13 to remain in Tier 1, while Pacific is relegated to Tier 2 for next
year. And in the Tier 2 Consolation, the South All-Star side just barely
squeaked by with a win over the Southern California All-Stars. Led by
winger Kristen Hauratty, who touched down two tries, the South was able
to hold on and upset the Southern Cal side to finish this year’s
Championships on a high note.

“Unfortunately things didn't end up in our favor again today,” said
Pacific Coast coach Mari Therrien. “But today was a much better match
and my girls played well. They controlled much of the first half and
were making their tackles.”

Penalties and two sin bins put the Pacific Coast under pressure, but
they led 13-10 late until two MARFU tries put them through.

“Overall it was a great rugby match,” said Therrien, who noted the
play of captains Siche Green-Mitchell and Delaney Chapman. “We stuck
to the gameplan and executed well today but the penalty count eventually
caught up to us. We have a lot of young players who will be back next
year and now that they've played this level of rugby they know what to
expect.”"