Women's Rugby Travels to Dartmouth on Saturday for 2:30 PM Tilt
9/11/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Rugby
Quinnipiac University (2-0) at Dartmouth (0-1)
Saturday, Sept. 13, 2014 • 2:30 PM
Brophy Field • Hanover, New Hampshire
All-Time Series vs. Dartmouth (DI): 0-0 (0-0)
Last Meeting: First Meeting
- Quinnipiac Women's Rugby Homepage
- Dartmouth Women's Rugby Homepage
- Twitter: @QURugby
BOBCATS LOOKS TO EXTEND STREAK
The Quinnipiac women's rugby team will travel to Hanover, New Hampshire this weekend to take on Dartmouth in their second away contest of the season. On Saturday, Sept. 13, the Bobcats will face the Big Green at 2:30 p.m. on the Brophy Field.
SCOUTING THE BIG GREEN
In their first game of the season, Dartmouth fell to rugby powerhouse Norwich, 74-10. Last season, Dartmouth finished the year 9-1 and remained undefeated until a loss in the Ivy 15s Championship Final. After being Princeton 12-10, the Big Green fell to Harvard in the final game 29-0. Dartmouth finished the regular season unbeaten including a 10 -5 win over Harvard.
LAST TIME OUT
In their home opener at the QU Rugby Field, the Bobcats defeated Army, 50-7. The Black Knights came into the game ranked sixth while Quinnipiac stood at 11 according to goffonrugbyreport.com. Six Bobcats contributed tries in the victory.
A KOSKO KILLING
In just two games, junior Natalie Kosko leads the team with five tries and three assists. Against Army, Kosko had two huge runs-over-twenty and four solo tackles.
A FRESHMAN FIRST
Megan Johnson, a freshman out of Washington scored her first career points on the final try of the game against Army. Johnson is the first Bobcat freshman to score this season.
THE IRISH TOUCH
Graduate student and QU soccer transfer out of Ireland, Aine McKeever was 5-8 from the conversion mark. McKeever scored 10 points and now has 14 on the season.
MYLES AHEAD OF THE COMPETITION
With her performance at Life University, sophomore captain Maggie Myles moved into second place in the Bobcat Rugby record books in Solo Tackles in a single game with 17 vs LIFE. She was one shy behind Katie Wood (2012 vs Vassar).
WHO TO WATCH
Head coach Becky Carlson returns for a fourth season in 2014, bringing along 15 players from last year's roster. After finishing a successful 2013-14 campaign, the Quinnipiac University women's rugby team looks to improve as an emerging national program.
Quinnipiac will be led by 2013 Rugby Magazine's U20 Player of the Year and two-time All American Natalie Kosko. As a sophomore, the Bobcats' wing finished her campaign as the Northeast Conference's leading scorer with 165 points (33 Tries) for the Bobcats during the 2013-14 season. Kosko currently leads the program in career points with 280 in her two seasons under head coach Becky Carlson.
Senior inside center, Elena Orlando led the team last season with 21 assists and eight assisted tackles. The team will also look to senior Elisa Cuellar to be a utility threat in the back line after finishing last season leading the team in overall tackles with 27. Senior returnee Shannon Durkin finished her sophomore campaign second on the team in trys with 15 through 10 total contests.
2013-2014 RECAP
The Bobcats will look to build on a stellar 2013 season after reaching the ACRA National Tournament Quarterfinals in each of the last two seasons, including an appearance in the National Semifinals in 2012-13. Last season, the Bobcats were 10-3, including wins in their last six regular-season games. Quinnipiac outscored their opponents 567-to-200 across its 13 regular-season contests, with a season-high 94 points coming against the University of Massachusetts on Oct. 12. After going 9-2 overall in the regular season and 4-2 in Northeast Conference action, the Bobcats saw themselves atop the conference standings. Quinnipiac received a bid to the American Collegiate Rugby Association (ACRA) National Tournament because of their highly competitive and demanding regular season schedule. The No. 3 Bobcats pulled No. 10 Boston University in the round of 16 before outlasting the Terriers 59-15 en route to a birth in the quarterfinals against Navy. Quinnipiac saw their campaign come to an end with a hard fought 28-5 loss against the Midshipman.
WELCOMING THE NEWCOMERS
Quinnipiac will look to eight freshman and a soccer team transfer to help boost their squad for the upcoming 2014 season. The newcomers note nine players to join the squad; Brittney Eldridge, Rebecca Haight, Karee Helgerson, Megan Johnson, Aine McKeever, Flora Poole, Ava Redmond, Lillian Weldon, Margaret Wesolowski.
Eldrigde hails from Fallbrook High School in California and as a prop, helped lead her program to four consecutive high school championships. No. 8 Wesolowski and center/wing Haight formerly teamed up on the Wisconsin Catholic Memorial High School team. Wesolowski earned a spot on the national all-tournament team both her junior and senior years while Haight earned several records in tries-scored.
High School All-American, Karee Helgerson comes by way of Rex Putnam High School in Oregon. The prop/no. 8 took part in the Stars and Stripes game over the summer.
Washington native and state champion wrestler, Megan Johnson will join the Bobcats by way of Tumwater High School. An All-American, she joined the USA U20's squad as a scrumhalf.
McKeever will begin her fifth year at Quinnipiac after playing for the Bobcats on the soccer team. Flora Poole is an openside flanker from New Zealand where she was the MVP and a four-year letter winner at the Rangi Ruru Girls School.
Ava Redmond a former track and field athlete, joins the team from Solebury School in New Jersey as a gold medalist at the PAISAA Championship Track Meet in 2013. The Bobcats will also look to two-time All-American Lily Weldon from Summit High School in Colorado. After joining the squad as an eighth grader, she helped her team to five consecutive state championships.
ON DECK
The Bobcats will return home on Saturday, Sept. 27 to face the Norwich Cadets. Last season, Norwich won the ACRA Division I National Tournament 15s Championship, beating Army 32-15.
THE SCHEDULE
The Bobcats open the 2014 season on the road in Marietta, Ga. when they face Life University on Saturday, Aug. 30 at 12 p.m. The Bobcats return home a week later when they host the United States Military Academy for its home opener on Saturday, Oct. 6 at 12 p.m., followed by a trip to Dartmouth College on Saturday, Sept. 13. Quinnipiac wraps-up the month of September at home when it hosts Norwich on Saturday, Sept. 27.
October opens with the Bobcats on the road on Saturday, Oct. 11 at Brigham Young University. Quinnipiac will then return home on Saturday, Oct. 18 to host Eastern Illinois University at 1 p.m. The Bobcats finish their October schedule on the road at Central Washington University on Saturday, Oct. 25.
The Bobcats will then travel to Annapolis, Md. to take on Navy on Saturday, Nov. 1. Quinnipiac's final home game of the 2014 season lands on Saturday, Nov. 8 when the Bobcats host West Chester University at 12 p.m. in Hamden, Conn., with Senior Day festivities set for prior to the start of the game.
