WPL Round 5 Review by Wendy Young, YSC Editor

View the complete 2011 WPL Schedule, Match Reports and Results here.

by Wendy Young, YSC Editor

• Berkeley All-Blues Surprise Keystone
• Beantown Outlast Washington Furies
• Amazons Dominate New York
• Surfers Put Away Valkyries
• Visit the USA Rugby Stats Portal for match details
• Watch replays here
• Sign up for Women’s Premier League News
• Get unique player perspective Match Reports from the YSC Reporters

The fifth round of the Women’s Premier League went as expected with the favored teams coming out on top.

Blue Division
Keystone vs the Berkeley All Blues was the match of the week! If you weren’t able to watch this match in person…all of the All Blues 33 points came in the 2nd half. Yes, thats right…it was 0-0 at the end of the first half! Scrumhalf Elaine Gardner was on fire as she posted four of the five tries with Phoebe Boone and Ashley English contributing as well. Keystone looked a bit dazed but will look to rebound next week against Beantown.
Final Score: Keystone 0 All Blues 38

The Washington Furies and Beantown met this weekend in  abLue Division clash setting two similar teams against each other. Both teams came tearing out of the gates at the opening kickoff. The Furies and Beantown attack moved the ball through the hands effortlessly testing out the space and width of each defense. The Furies found the first opening though as they spun the ball wide after a solid ruck and put right winger Emily Miller in for the try. Beantown wasn’t frazzled though and twelve minutes later Amy Daniels crossed the line for a score. At this point Beantown began a frenzied yet organized attack that emphasized offloading. This good support and pace kept the Furies defense busy and scrambling. At the twentieth minute the Furies suffered a blow with outside center Elizabeth Noto sin binned for repeated infringements at the breakdown. Halftime score was 22-5 for Beantown.

After the break the Furies made a few adjustments to their roster and that seemed to have a positive impact but the 22-5 score was too much for them to overcome. Beantown continued their polished work though and put several different players over for scores.
Final Score: Furies 15 Beantown 42

Red Division
The scoreline doesn’t always indicate the intensity of the match and that is the case this week with New York vs the Twin Cities Amazons. From the kickoff the match was evenly contested on offense and defense by both teams. After a tense thirteen minutes Kaelene Lundstrum of the Amazons broke the seal with an unconverted try. Ten minutes later after a series of penalties Desiree Markovich slotted a penalty kick to put the Zons up 8-0. New York was not silent though and answered right back with a try from Rebecca Brafman going over the line.

The second half started with the Zons up 20-5. Both teams had multiple breakaways but lack of support and tenacious defense kept the teams from scoring. Finally the pressure was too much for New York and the Amazon backline led by Lynelle Kugler were able to start pouring on the points. Tries from Lundstrom, Rebecca Radtke, Ashley Mulford, and Sylvia Braaten sealed New York’s fate.
Final Score: New York 10 Amazons 47

The Surfers returned to Minnesota again this week to face the Valkyries. The Surfers were coming off their first loss in the WPL season and they were looking to get back on track. Unfortunately for the Valkyries they did just that. The Surfers were generous with the ball and showed true team spirit by spreading the scores around to Jill Duggan, Audrey Johnson, Kristy Lear, Liz Henry, Kim McLaughlin, Kirstin Hartos, Hannah Bennett, Emilie Bydwell and Jenna Anderson. Hartos slotted seven of nine conversions.
Final Score: Valkyries 5 Surfers 59

---

WPL League Standings

Blue Division

Place	Team	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Berkeley All-Blues	5	5	0	0	248	39	209	25
2	Keystone	5	3	0	2	101	142	-42	14
3	Beantown	5	2	0	3	114	120	-6	10
4	Washington Furies	5	0	0	5	54	216	-162	1

Red Division

Place	Team	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Twin Cities Amazons	5	4	0	1	198	47	151	21
2	San Diego Surfers	5	4	0	1	196	67	129	20
3	New York Women	5	2	0	3	113	145	-32	10
4	Minnesota Valkyries	5	0	0	5	45	297	-252	1

---

Upcoming Matches

Blue Division

Berkeley All-Blues vs. Washington Furies

Beantown vs. Keystone

Red Division

San Diego Surfers vs. New York Women

Twin Cities Amazons vs. Minnesota Valkryies