YSCRugby | Women's Rugby News | WPL Week 4: Beantown vs DC Furies Match Report by Eli White + Video

Beantown rebounded from two recent losses to defeat the Washington, D.C. Furies 34-12 Sunday in Frederick, Maryland. The last time these two teams met the Furies pack dominated the point of contact which seemed to be unexpected by the Beantown forwards. There was no surprise this time though, as Beantown’s pack came ready to step up their game and challenged the hosts in the forwards. “Beantown did a good job of being aggressive in the loose play, not allowing us to get momentum going. To their credit, they knew they had to hit us hard and they applied a lot of pressure,” said Furies coach Nancy Fitz.

The scoring started early, as Beantown fullback and co-captain Katie Dowty came at pace to receive the ball and score under the posts at 3 minutes in. Hooker Emily Jones’s conversion struck the left post, keeping the score at 5-0. The Furies quickly moved the ball downfield on the restart and a Beantown penalty resulted in a conversion attempt at the 22 meter, but Jess Shipley’s kick missed wide. Beantown repeatedly called for penalties in the first half, and the Furies soon capitalized. After a Beantown penalty at the 8 meter mark, D.C. this time decided to play it, setting a fierce maul and moving the ball into the tryzone to be touched down by flanker Laura Miller ten minutes into the match. Returning for her first game since suffering an injury during summer 7s season, inside center Kristin Giuliano took the conversion and put the Furies in the lead 7-5.

The Furies backline made some huge line breaks to bring their team within striking distance again, but Beantown came up with some big defense, stealing the ball after a Furies lineout on the 5 meter mark and kicking to clear up some breathing room. Soon after, Dowty made another huge run past the backline, supported well by trailing #11 Jenny Kuchar. A bad pass allowed the Furies to recover, but Beantown was quick to set and win the ruck, and #8 Mel Denham’s pick and go resulted in a try. The conversion attempt was missed, 10-7 Beantown.
The Furies forwards came back with hard runs highlighted by prop Tiffany Smith literally pushing people down and running over them. But Beantown refused to give in, taking advantage of a turnover to attack again and show great continuity between the backs and forwards to move up the field. Beantown flyhalf Kelly Seary split the centers, made a great dummy pass to Dowty and kept the ball to finish off her run with a score. Jones made the kick, 17-7 Beantown.

The Furies were forced to adjust as their injury curse struck yet again with 8-man and captain Kelly Clerkin coming of the match with a head injury. Fortunately the hit was minor and she should be cleared to play in their next match.
Beantown looked to score again as Denham broke up the field and passed to the evasive Dowty, but the fullback’s pass went into the hands of Furies wing Ida Bernstein who reversed course back down field.

A Beantown lineout resulted in a strong maul and quick pass out to the backline where #12 Rachel Sachs made a big run for gain. The Beantown pack set a quick ruck, and a pick and go by Jones resulted in her powering through to score with no time left in the half. The conversion was made, 22-7.

The second half started with lots of back and forth possession between the teams. Beantown turned to forward punches and 8-man picks to set up their backs, but a few forward passes repeatedly turned the ball over. The Furies backline launched hard to get in the faces of their opponents, frustrating their attack, but Beantown kept at it. The Furies showed incredible goal-line defense for much of the first 15 minutes of the half, pushing the visitors back repeatedly from within five meters. But Beantown finally was able to get another score on the board, touching the ball down in the far corner off of a scrum. 27-7.

The Furies then came on the attack, with Smith passing to flanker Ashley Sorensen who broke through the defense for a 20 meter gain. The backs kept up the attack, passing the ball through the hands of the fullback, wing, and outside center as they moved it up field with their forwards close in support. The Furies’ hard work soon paid off as Shipley offloaded to Laura Miller for her scored her second try of the match. 27-12.

The Furies continued to put on the pressure, highlighted with some great midfield tackles by wing Emily Miller. D.C. threatened to score much of the last ten minutes of the match, however, in their fury to put some more points on the board, the ball was turned over, and Beantown capitalized by getting out to wing Jenny Kuchar who scored with only a minute remaining. The conversion was slotted by Jones for a final score of 34-12.

After falling to the Amazons last week, Beantown came into the game focused on turning a corner. “We knew we needed to play with confidence, play together, and have fun, and we did that today.” said co-captain Sharyn Wacht.

Noting that due to injury the Furies have had a different backline roster for each of its four matches, Fitz highlighted that her players have used it as an opportunity to increase the team’s depth. “Our constantly changing backline has made it challenging to develop a sense of timing and pattern, but a lot of people have come in and stepped up and now have a lot of WPL experience under their belt. That has turned into a huge positive in that it gives us options in the second half of the season and going into nationals. Our backs have improved a lot and our back triangle is playing great.”

All WPL teams have a bye this week, with their fifth match following the next weekend. The Furies will travel to Minnesota to face the Amazons, who currently lead the conference in points. The Furies will look to shore up their defense against the ‘Zons, and add more options to their plan of attack.

Beantown travels to Berkeley in an attempt to win the rematch after a two point loss to the All-Blues earlier in the season.
The Furies would like to thank the Frederick Rugby Club for their generous support in donating the use of their beautiful pitch for all of the Furies’ WPL matches. Said Fitz, “They have been great supporters all season; they’ve been to all the games, set up all the equipment, and been very helpful.”

Furies Roster
Dre Khoury
Leanna Berger
Tiffany Smith
Joanna Bader
Liz Hirschhorn
Laura Miller
Julie Hogan
Kelly Clerkin (replaced by Joc Richards at 33 min)
Sara Shanley (replaced by Ashley Sorensen at 59min)
Katie Bell
Emily Miller
Val Winschel
Kristin Giuliano (replaced by Liz Noto at half)
Ida Bernstein
Jessica Shipley

Beantown Roster
Jamie Burke
Emily Jones
Sharyn Wacht
Mary Sung
Sharon Blaney
Katy Augustyn (replaced by Lisa Cocchiara at 70min)
Rachel Milligan
Melanie Denham
Tiffany McCoy
Kelly Seary
Jenny Kuchar
Rachel Sachs
Emilie Bydwell
Renee Astphan
Katie Dowty