The top four teams in Women’s Division II are locked in now that the Regional champions have been crowned after a thrilling weekend of rugby around the country.
While three of those teams were expected to be headed to Houston when all was said and done, the fourth contender, Midwest champion SUNY Binghamton, is on a Cinderella run of epic proportions. The She-Devils beat two ranked teams to secure their spot in the National semifinals beginning with #9 Northwestern on Saturday and culminating with a 55-34 victory over #11 Bowling Green earlier today.
Binghamton jumped on the Falcons early, taking a 10-0 lead thanks to scores by Elizabeth Crawford and Leah Ford. But BGSU battled back, thanks in large part to the efforts of Samantha Tripi and Jordyn Barr. Bowling Green eventually took a 15-10 lead in the first half and then a 22-20 lead early in the second half, but Binghamton never panicked. They stiffened up on defense, shutting the Falcons down, while scoring 21 unanswered points of their own to take the lead for good. Another 12 point spurt in the final ten minutes helped stave off a late comeback effort by Bowling Green and put the She-Devils through to the semifinals. Crawford led the way for Binghamton with two tries and a number of successful conversion kicks. Kennedy Ridzi also scored thrice.
The next test for the She-Devils will be their toughest yet, as they prepare to take on the runners up from 2024, Wisconsin Eau Claire, in December. The Blugolds breezed past a talented Winona State team 41-19 in the West Regional final, leading by as much as 41-5 before the Black Katts scored two tries late in an ill-fated comeback bid. Winona kept it close early on, with Kylee Marlow answering an early score by Breanna Bauer to tie the game at 5-5. But Eau Claire’s Calla Dexheimer put the team on her back early in the second half, scoring three straight tries to put her squad up 22-5 and effectively put the game out of reach thanks to the Blugolds’ bruising defense.
Elsewhere, #1 Vassar took care of business in the South regional final, completely shutting down a talented Coastal Carolina team 66-0. Both Yasmeen Kassem-Scott and Jude Robinson had themselves a day for the Brewers with multiple scores. Sophia Bailey also put in her customary three scores in yet another impressive performance. The win sets up a semifinal rematch with #3 Coast Guard after the Bears handled a fierce Fairfield side 33-24 in the East Final.
Coast Guard’s Kaitlyn Boggs reintroduced herself to the rest of the division, scoring three clutch tries and making an impact all over the pitch. Molly Muller went nuclear in the second half for the Stags, scoring back-to-back tries and nailing a conversion to bring Fairfield within one score 53 minutes into the contest. The score remained 26-24 for another 20 minutes, before Boggs scored her third to seal the deal.
The four teams will progress to semifinals in Houston, TX on December 6.
More college rugby news at TheCollegeRugbyShow.com.
