Week three of Friday Night Rugby carries with it the weighty kit bag of consequence as two of the top teams in women’s collegiate rugby face off in the first match this season with actual playoff implications to be played under the bright lights on Friday night.
This week’s opponents, the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Walsh University Cavaliers, are both part of the brand new seven-team Women’s Division I competition, out of which only the top four teams will get a shot to compete for a National Championship in December. With so few spots available for these hyper-competitive programs, the stakes are even higher when two of them meet on the pitch.
Penn State, the newcomers to NCR ranked #3 in the preseason poll, had an early bead on locking up one of those spots, but a week-one 87-0 loss to intra-divisional foe Wheeling has tempered expectations somewhat for the Nittany Lions. That result can be chalked up to early season jitters as it’s difficult to take on the defending champs while the team is still trying to find its form under second-year head coach, and former Lion, Lauren Schissler. Subsequent matches, albeit both losses, against high-quality opponents in Mount Saint Mary’s and Davenport University have seen Schissler’s squad continue to improve. But a second divisional loss to a lower-ranked Walsh side (#6) would make their path to playoff contention even murkier.
Aiding Penn State in their week-to-week improvement has been recent hire Caitlin Singletary, brought on by Schissler as an assistant coach this past February. Singletary is also an alum of the program and has worked with the US National team as an analyst.
The Cavaliers, on the other hand, have been feasting on lower-division opponents to start their Fall season. While the squad’s week one win over Pitt (48-0) featured a lot of highs and a lot of lows, they played a much more consistent game in week two against Niagara, riding a complete performance to a dominant 75-5 win. Will these early-season victories prove to be just the appetizers for this Friday’s main course? Or are the Nittany Lions poised to make mincemeat out of this upstart?
Walsh is in just its second year as a team after absorbing the program from Notre Dame College following the closure of that institution. But while the Cavaliers are looking to forge their own path, remnants of that once-dominant NDC outfit can still be found in the program’s DNA, beginning with the team’s head coach.
Similar to Schissler, Kelly Wallenhorst was a standout player at Notre Dame College who has returned to help lead what is ostensibly her alma mater. The Cavaliers are also buoyed by a core group of seniors who transferred from NDC along with the program two years ago including flyhalf Emilie Dobranski, who was named back of the match against Niagara after scoring three tries, and loose forward Charlee McCormick, who has a high motor and does a lot of the dirty work while also contributing on the scoring front. The rest of that group consists of Avery Bruzda, Kylie Mixter, and Campbell Plumley.
Also for the Cavaliers, keep an eye on sophomore Michaela Harris, a strong runner who has improved greatly heading into her sophomore year, and Jada Diaz, a junior with some juice on the wing who is returning from a shoulder injury that kept her out last season.
For Penn State, all good things will flow forth from captain and starting scrumhalf Ella Miller. The Nittany Lions also have Cara McManus marshalling the forwards from the number eight position. McManus, a walk-on with no rugby experience her freshman year, has since developed into a solid, reliable attacker for the team. And keep an eye on the starting fullback, freshman Jessica Ciaffi, who has impressed the coaching staff through the team’s first three games, particularly on defense.
Defense will be key for the Nittany Lions as they look to bring a level of intensity, taking away space and counter-rucking with gusto to either turn the ball over or slow down the Walsh attack.
For the Cavaliers that attack will begin with the set piece, specifically the scrum, where they feel they have an advantage over their opponent. If they can set the tone by dominating in the scrums early, and then use those scrums as a platform to launch their attack, they could put on quite a show for the home fans at Larry Stoudt Field.
Kick off your Friday Night Rugby right by tuning into The College Rugby Show at 6:30pm EST and not miss this epic clash, streamed live on YouTube beginning at 7pm EST on Friday, September 26, as the Fall XV’s season gets underway in earnest.
Read more college rugby news like this on TheCollegeRugbyShow.com.
