December 2, 2023

Michigan Defends National DI Title

December 2 - For the second year in a row, top-ranked Michigan beat No. 2 Notre Dame College to claim the national championship at SaberCats Stadium in Houston. The road to the championship was set with UM defeating Southern Nazarene (30-20) and Northern Iowa (22-15) throughout the quarter and semifinals, while NDC took on and defeated Iowa State (44-20) and Indiana (27-13). In 2022, Michigan proved victorious over Notre Dame College with a score of 41-14. 

Eight man Lucy Leatherman scored the first try of the game, putting Notre Dame College in the lead just after the ten-minute mark. The Falcons seemed to be holding their own defensively, and it briefly seemed as though nothing could break through their brick wall set on the try line. However, things changed when they were faced with the swiftness of backs Grace Codd and Katie Gale. Michigan led 12-5 at the half. 

Opportunistic set plays from NDC led to a score by Rosa Treece not five minutes after the kickoff, and both Leatherman sisters were relentless in all aspects of play. Yellow cards for both teams were dealt in the second half, leaving Notre Dame College without their scrum half and Michigan without their eight man. Ember Larson found space enough to score with two players in the bin. Alivia Leatherman kept the Falcons in the game by scoring to cut the deficit to just five with ten minutes to go, until MVP Codd scored her second try of the match, securing Michigan a 33-17 win and a second-straight national title.

Women's Director Angela Smarto with Michigan MVP Grace Codd

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