YSC Reporter Alicia Gillberg – Mulford Scores Hat-Trick as Amazons Win Against New York Women [VIDEO]

View the complete 2011 WPL Schedule and Results here.

By Alicia Gillberg:

In their second match of the 2011 WPL season, two teams took the pitch under conditions slightly less than ideal to be a spectator, but almost perfect for a hard fought rugby match. It was raining earlier that morning and remained damp and dreary, but this didn’t seem to stop the Amazons from taking advantage of their back line.

It took a while for either team to find rhythm; both teams having a few good phases ending in turnovers and loose balls, first points on the board were off of a penalty kick dead center put through the uprights by Rebecca “Reebok” Radtke, Amazons up 3-0. The rest of the half was hard fought by forwards heavily favoring the Amazons for field position and resulting in 2 trys by the Zon’s fullback, Ashley “Mulf” Mulford and 2 conversions to go with them put in by Reebok. Halftime score: 17-0.

Coming onto the field after half the Zons had the wind at their backs and got another quick 3 point penalty kick put through by Reebok. Following another bout of phases back and forth between the two teams, New York ended their dry spell when they got the ball to their prop #16 off a quick tap and into the try zone. 20-5 Amazons still up, but needing to gain momentum back.

While the Amazons have a lot of big names in their back line, they’ve always had a forward heavy style of play, answering back for the Zon’s tight five Stacey Bridges hammered in a try and followed by Reebok’s conversion brought the score up to 27-5. After this is was off to the races for the Amazons with Mulford bagging a hat-trick with another try and Lynelle Kugler scoring off of a sweet grubber kicked by Reebok, ending the match with a score of 37-5.

After the match the Zon’s hosted a social on the pitch for the New Yorkers who needed to get back to the city. The two teams will meet again in late October.

The Amazons will use their off weekend to prepare for possibly the biggest match up of the WPL right now against the San Diego Surfers who are also undefeated. New York will be defending their home turf against the Minnesota Valkyries who are also looking to find their flow in this 2011 season.

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