River Surprises DII Burly Girls
River Surprises DII Burly Girls
Charles River handily upset their Division II visitors from Burlingtonlast weekend at their home Moakley Park, with a sound 39-0 win.The blazing River offense put up seven tries against their higher-division opponents, while holding the Vermont visitors scoreless.The victory brought Charles River to 5-0 overall, with a 4-0 divisional record. The green and orange have amassed 144 points during the fall season, while allowing only 12 points against to their opposition.
The early moments of the game remained evenly matched between squads. Burlington relied heavily on their forwards to make progress with the ball, while River stoutly held their defense against a larger team. The gridlock was broken at 17:30 into the match, when Prop Chrissy “C” Andronico wove through the outside quarter of the field, before popping to Wing Katy Wilks. Wilks broke up the sideline, making a sharp cut in to avoid two defenders, throwing a stiff arm, and breaking through to the try zone.
River would roll on the momentum for the rest of the match. Despite, as ever, being outweighed, the Ratpack was tremendous in set play, retaining each of the Charles River scrums, while stealing one fromBurlington. Locks Sabrina Neuman and Kara McAuliffe anchored a tight scrum, and the agile Lane Standige rolled off the back several times for substantial River gains.
The River backs threaded the ball beautifully all match, anchored by the quick-thinking Captain Jenn “JVK” VanKuren at Flyhalf. Amanda Martin teamed with Molly Desmond through the middle; both moved the ball well, providing opportunities for Wilks and Julia Messing on the outside. VanKuren would have an outstanding game for River, touching down two tries including the game’s second, and another, featuring a chip kick over the Burlington defense. VanKuren recovered her own kick before sprinting past the try line on an impressive personal effort.
The ever-threatening Danielle “Dollar” McDonagh at Flanker formed a formidable trio with 8-man Lane Standige and Linda Morris. The three exploded from set plays, and wove through the Burlington line in loose play. Prop Jehanne “Juggs” Junguenet represented herself as a formidable foe in rucks throughout the match. Junguenet singlehandedly captured several balls for River with her alert and agile defense. She ran with agility as well, earning herself one try after a series of phases through the forwards in the first half, and another after a lengthy River possession late in the second half.
Formidable pack Rats Whitney McCoy and Rookie Julie Trautwein made a seamless transition in the second half, holding the Burlingtonforwards back and handily maintaining possession for River. With added tries from Fullback Alex Schmidt, the self-orchestrated kick and chase from Van Kuren, and Junguenet’s second, River had amassed six scores by late in the second half. With Schmidt lacing conversions on each of VanKuren’s tries, and the Ratpack touching down a seventh and final try at the 80:00 minute mark, the Lady Rats earned themselves the 39-0 victory.
Charles River would like to thank the ladies of Burlington for making the long trip down during the bye week for the match. River would also like to thank their loyal fan base, including the River Old Girls, who came to support them this past Saturday. The Lady Rats would also like to thank Stadium Bar & Grill of Old Colony Road in South Boston for hosting the post-game social. Charles River will don their trademark orange jerseys one final time this season, while traveling to New Hampshire Saturday October 15, to face Amoskeag. Kickoff is scheduled for 1PM.