QU Women's Rugby Defeats Army, 20-12, on Senior Day

Saturday, October 31

Hamden, Conn.

12:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Army West Point

QU Women's Rugby Defeats Army, 20-12, on Senior Day

10/31/2015 2:23:00 PM | Women's Rugby

Ilona Maher Scores a Try and Adds Two Assists in the Win

By: Sports Information

HAMDEN, Conn. – On Saturday afternoon at the QU Rugby Field, the Quinnipiac women's rugby team defeated the Army Black Knights, 20-12 in a conference rematch. Sophomore inside center Ilona Maher (Burlington, Vermont) led the Bobcats with a try and two assists in the victory.

Quinnipiac honored three student-athletes for Senior Day prior to the contest against the Black Knights. Seniors Tesni Phillips (Chesire, Connecticut), Jennifer Fremd (Oak Harbor, Washington) and Raechel Stimson (Cameron Park, California) were all recognized for their hard work and dedication to the program.

Earlier this season, the Bobcats held a 24-5 lead against Army in the second half before the Black Knights rallied back to score 22 straight points and secure the victory. Quinnipiac was determined to change the outcome this time around on their home turf.

The Bobcats dominated the first half, scoring three tries while shutting out Army through the first 40 minutes. Quinnipiac got on the board early, scoring their first try just two minutes into the half. Maher found outside center Maggie Myles (Emmitsburg, Maryland) who ran in for the try with no Black Knights in sight.

About six minutes later, the Bobcats took a 10-0 lead with their second try of the half as Maher recorded her second consecutive assist. The sophomore ran towards the scoring zone and met a couple of Army defenders, but as she was being brought to the ground, she found freshman Emily Roskopf (Pleasanton, California). Roskopf continued up the left side for her 13^th try of the season.

With 18 minutes remaining in the first frame, Quinnipiac scored their final try of the half for a 15-0 lead. After an Army penalty and a tap and go by the Bobcats, QU swung the ball all the way across field to the left side. Roskopf caught the ball and found sophomore Rebecca Haight (Oconomowoc, Wisconsin) on the left wing who took the ball down the sideline for the try.

Just before the break, Army threatened to cut down the Quinnipiac lead. The Black Knights put pressure on the defense deep in their scoring territory but the Bobcats held strong and kicked the ball away as time expired.

Neither offense was able to get going in the first half until Maher broke through for her team-leading 16^th try of the season at the 26 minute mark. Sophomore scrum half Mason Johnson (Olympia, Washington) assisted Maher who took the ball and ran about 10 yards past multiple Black Knights for the score.

Down by 20, Army answered with back-to-back tries to cut the lead to 20-12. With 22 minutes remaining in the contest, senior Mariah Caid-Loos scored the first Black Knights try. After a successful conversion, Army scored for a second time with just under 10 minutes to go.

Quinnipiac gained their composure after Army's 12-0 run and took back control of the game to capture the win. The Bobcats improved to 7-2 on the year and 6-1 in NCVWRA action with the win while the Black Knights dropped to 5-4 overall and 5-1 in the conference.

The Bobcats return to action next weekend with their final game before tournament play begins. On Saturday, November 7, Quinnipiac will travel to Chester, Pennsylvania to take on the West Chester Golden Rams at 12 p.m.