Team Red Holds Off Team White in Women’s National Team Intra-Squad Clash

Team Red Holds Off Team White in Women’s National Team Intra-Squad Clash
from USA Rugby.org:

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Following a scoreless second half, Team Red held its half-time lead over Team White to come away with a 19-10 victory in the Women’s National Team’s intra-squad competition, the Red/White Match at Mills Pond Park on Saturday afternoon.

Both teams opened up strong, but it was the Team Red that would get on the board first, as Vanesha McGee broke away for a pair of tries in the first half, with Mel Kanuk kicking both conversions. Nathalie Marchino also had a try for the Red to put the team up to 19 points before the break.

While their Red counterparts struggled slightly in the pack, Team White’s backline had a hard time finishing. However, the team got a boost from a Brenna Costello penalty kick and a try from Elise Myer, with Costello again kicking the extras to pull within nine points before switching sides.

The second half ushered in a whole new wave of players, as the coaching staff made several changes to test out some of the younger talent. Although the teams held strong in an even back and forth battle, neither could quite get the ball to drop in its favor, leaving the score stuck at 19-10 in Team Red’s favor at the final blow.

The 44 players selected for the Red/White Match included a healthy mix of experience and youth, including several up-and-coming athletes from the WNT Age-Grade program, who impressed Women’s National Team Head Coach Kathy Flores.

“For their first 10 minutes or so of play the younger athletes seemed nervous about how they would perform, especially because they hadn’t worked with the Women’s National Team much before,” Flores said. “After the initial nerves wore off, I felt that many of the new additions from the Age-Grade system, such as Tayo Mafe and Stacey Bridges, became important to the game and made a great impact.”

“Ultimately, the game provided a valuable opportunity to get the players together one additional time before the end of the year and although the game showcased its share of mistakes in contact, it has given the athletes an idea of where they stand and what we as a team need to work on going forward,” Flores added.

TEAM RED
1 DOUGLAS, Farrah (Chicago North Shore)
2 BUTTS, Lisa (Davis Women)
3 BAKER, Stacey (Philadelphia)
4 HOBSON, Christina (New York)
5 MCCORMICK, Kati (UW–Milwaukee)
6 ZDANCZEWICZ, Kristin (MN Valkyries)
7 ROYCE, Beckett (ORSU)
8 DALEY, Kate (Keystone)
9 HERTEL, Katy (MN Valkyries)
10 KANUK, Mel (DC Furies)
11 MARCHINO, Nathalie (Berkeley All-Blues)
12 BYDWELL, Emilie (Beantown)
13 KUGLER, Lynelle (Glendale)
14 MCGEE, Vanesha (New York)
15 ENGLISH, Ashley (Berkeley All-Blues)

Replacements
16 PRIMO, Rachel (NOVA)
17 BERG, Libby (MN Valkyries)
18 BRAND, Anneke (Texas Tech)
19 HUGHES, Brea (At-large)
20 TSENG, Jossy (Berkeley All-Blues)
21 MCGILLIVRAY, Deanna (UNM)
22 DOWTY, Katie (Beantown)

TEAM WHITE
1 WACHT, Sharyn (Beantown)
2 HEGG, Meredith (Philadelphia)
3 BURKE, Jamie (Beantown)
4 MENKE, Jenny (MN Valykyries)
5 WALSH, Sarah (Chicago North Shore)
6 HEMSTREET, Allyson (Berkeley All-Blues)
7 DENHAM, Mel (Beantown)
8 DILLEY, Liz (Washington Furies)
9 YOUNG, Wendy (Austin Valkyries)
10 COSTELLO, Brenna (DC Furies)
11 DOMBROSKI, Lisa (Philadelphia)
12 MYER, Elise (NOVA)
13 MORENO, San Juanita (ORSU)
14 FLATEMAN, Jenna (New York)
15 KMIECIK, Ashley (Emerald City Mudhens)

Replacements
16 MAFE, Adetayo (Michigan State University)
17 ALIBERTO, Kristin (Philadelphia)
18 BRIDGES, Stacey (Texas A & M)
19 FOLAYAN, Victoria (Berkeley All-Blues)
20 MARSHALL, Ramey (ORSU)
21 STOLBA, Hannah (MN Valkyries)
22 GREGORICH, Claire (Glendale)