Providence vs. Albany
Providence, NY

Albany 7 - Providence 12
September 2nd, 2011
Labor Day weekend 2011 signaled the beginning of the rugby season for Division 1 women’s rugby clubs in Competitive Region 3. CR3 is a seven team conference that includes teams as far away from Albany as Atlanta and Washington, DC.

The club had a relatively short road trip to Providence to start their season out. Providence and Albany had faced each other many times in their 6 years in Division 2 together. The outcomes of those matches (particularly in recent years) had been close. The usual scenario being Providence would win the regular season match and Albany would flip the tables in the play-offs. 2010 saw the teams take separate paths as Providence moved to D1 and Albany stayed in D2. Both teams had successful campaigns with Providence reaching the first round of national D1 play-offs and Albany claiming the D2 national title.

Enough back-story… onto the match: Despite the early 10am kick-off the weather was already hot and humid, a factor that would put both team’s early season conditioning to the test. Providence started out with a quick tempo and solid rucking that put Albany under immediate defensive pressure. Albany withstood the early test and thwarted any advances Providence made into their 22. When it was Albany’s turn with the ball they had some solid phase play but early season jitters (and a solid Providence line) kept them from advancing far down the field.

It wasn’t until the first half was almost over that either team was able to score. At the 36th minute Providence was able to put their speedy fullback thru a gap and she finished the run with a try in the corner (no conversion). On the ensuing kick-off Providence displayed some good ball retention in the forwards that drew in the Albany defense. This enabled them to get the ball once again to their favorite recipient (the fullback), and she was through the line again… this time for a try near the posts that was converted. 12-0 Providence, after 40 minutes of play.

 Half-time gave Albany some time to regroup and pick a few areas of their game to concentrate on and improve. The renewed focus helped as they re-took the field and the Providence scoring train that had gotten started at the end of the first was brought to a halt. At this point Albany was also able to put the Providence forwards to the test. With 10 minutes gone in the second, sustained Albany possession down by the Providence endzone and a heads up play by scrumhalf Kristin Bonomo (diving over the ruck) got Albany their first try of the game. A JoAnne Kos conversion brought the club just a try away from tying up the match.

Whether it was the two teams familiarity with each other, their similar style of play or the just the fact it was the first match of the season for both clubs, neither Providence or Albany was to come thru with another scoring opportunity. Both teams had surges that put the other one under pressure and Albany had one last hopeful drive into Providence territory with time winding down. The match ended with Providence up 12-7. Despite the loss, Albany still came away with a bonus point for keeping the game within seven as well as a solid base to build the rest of the season on.

July 30th and 31st, 2011

Saranac… Can-Ams… Christmas for rugby players. No matter what you call it, it is a weekend that rugby players from across this corner of the globe eagerly anticipate every year. And  after a spring filled with cold, wet and generally miserable weather for 15's players, Mother Nature decided to show everyone a little love and provided some beautiful weather.

 Onto the rugby:

 All the women's teams this year were in one division- divided into 8 pools of three teams each. After pool play the top team and the 2nd place team from each pool would play each other on Saturday evening in their respective championship or consolation quarter-final.

 Albany was placed in a pool with Hudson Valley and Blackhorse (a team from Fredonia), the other pool in our bracket contained Beantown, New England Motley and Morris. Hmmm, I wonder what will happen...

 Anyway, Albany's first match of the day was against Hudson Valley a D3 club from MetNY. That said, Albany was also without seven of their regulars from last year's squad so this was definitely not a game to take for granted. Being a little rusty after not playing 15's for over 2 months, Albany wanted to set the tone immediately and take control early on to get some breathing room. Early on Albany looked to exploit any lapses in HV's defense. The surest path to the try-zone was found on the outside as winger Willow Eyers put the finishing touches on some solid play that had started in the middle of the pitch with just 2 minutes gone. Off the re-start Albany was pressuring again and this time it was forward Erin Putnam displaying some agile running up the center of the field for Albany's next score, Beth Fairall added the conversion. Hudson Valley defense solidified after the two quick scores and the next ten minutes of the match remained scoreless. As the Albany forwards steadily worked the center of the pitch, it enabled space on the edges to open up and winger Willow Eyers was sprung for two more tries before the half was up; 22-0 Albany at the half.

 The second half saw a steady flow on fresh legs enter the match as the club looked to manage playing time with two more games now in their future. The subs each added their own valuable contributions and the team kept up its pressure whether on offense or defense. Four more players found the try-zone in this half, with Albany forwards Carrie Emigh and Nicole Vidro scoring the first ten points. The last 12 points of the half were taken care of by fullback Beth Fairall and newly graduated high school player Rachel Bryk, who got her first Albany try to close out the game.

Final score: Albany 47 - Hudson Valley 0

Second match of the day kicked off at 2pm against Blackhorse Rugby- a SUNY Fredonia team. Blackhorse did not put in a good showing against Hudson Valley earlier that day... maybe it had something to do with the fact it was an 8am game and they are college students. Anyway they must have spent the time between their matches recuperating and regrouping as they definitely did not go down without a fight. Blackhorse held their own against Albany and held the team to only two scores in the first 22 minutes of play. The 5 minute mark saw Willow Eyers dot down her fourth try of the day with another Fairall conversion. It was back ball again that capitalized on the work up front of the forwards as center Lauren Sirkin trotted in for a score close to half. 12-0 Albany at the half, a good start but there was much for Albany to improve on in the second half.

  Steady pressure and good ball retention in phase play earned Albany a try 8 minutes into the second half with a nice run by center Ruth Robertson. Another Beth Fairall conversion kick built the lead to 26. Blackhorse held defensively for the next ten minutes but failed to get much going when they had possession of the ball… as a result much of their efforts were expended on defense. This seemed to take its toll with 5 minutes left in the match as three more Albany tries were scored. Kristin Bonomo started it off (Fairall conversion), Beth decided to put more than 2 points on the board at a time and scored her own try that Rachel Bryk converted. The third and last try of match was run in by Ruth at the whistle.

Final score: Albany 38 - Blackhorse 0

With the win over Blackhorse and first place in pool H, it was on to the championship quarterfinals take on Pool C's top team... Beantown.

 Despite never haven beaten Beantown in a tournament, Albany is always hopefully that each time they play, this will be the time they can keep it close and pull out a win. This year there was a better chance than usual as Beantown had only two of their Premier League starters and the rest of the club filled out by the true B and C-side players. Albany was ready to play as soon as the ball was kicked off- a fired up Carrie Emigh and Kristin Bonomo took the lead in assaulting the heart of the Beantown line, whether on offense or defense. The rest of the team followed suit and the opening minutes of the game saw Albany display an intense go-forward, pressuring style of play that kept Beantown on their back foot for quite a while. Beantown was able to release some of that pressure at the 7 minute mark when they fed the ball into the hands of their Eagle fullback who quickly darted up the center of the field making several defenders miss on her way to scoring a try. Five minutes later it was a similar story, this time on the outside, to make the score 12-0. However Albany shook off the lapses in defense and resumed the pressure on defense. The hard effort paid off and it there was only one more try in the first half (in injury time). 19-0 Beantown lead at the half.

 Second half opened with Albany looking to retain possession of the ball and get things going offensively. Their efforts were rewarded when Ruth Robertson turned on the jets to beat Beantown’s fullback on the corner for Albany's first score of the game. The game continued on in much of the same way as the first half, with Albany applying good pressure but Beantown able to capitalize on any lapses on Albany's part. Two more converted tries by Beantown at 8 minutes and 16 minutes put the game out of reach for Albany. The final score was Beantown 33 - Albany 5. Not the victory Albany had wished for but a solid effort nonetheless and solid start to the club's 15's season.

Final score: Albany 5 - Beantown 33
MVP's of the Match:

Rookie fly-half Abby Brigham, for her grace under fire, especially against Beantown and veteran lock Alicia Backus, for proving that old dogs can indeed learn new tricks.