QU Women’s Rugby Shuts Down Army in the NIRA Semifinals

Friday, November 18

West Point, N.Y. / Anderson Rugby Complex

5:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Army West Point

QU Women’s Rugby Shuts Down Army in the NIRA Semifinals

11/18/2016 9:03:00 PM | Women's Rugby

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Quinnipiac Women's Rugby advanced to the NIRA Championship game after topping Army West Point 65-8 on the road Friday evening in the semifinal round.

The Bobcats started the game with momentum as fly half Flora Poole scored the first try of the game within the first minute. Madison Gegeckas completed her first conversion for the night bringing the Bobcat's up 7-0. In the ninth minute of play, the Bobcats successfully earned the ball out of the lineout transitioning from Poole to Ilona Maher off to Emily Roskopf for a try. Four minutes, later Ilona Maher secured the ball out of the scrum and scored an impressive 50-yard try to extend the Quinnipiac lead.

After battling back and forth for the next six minutes of the game, Poole earned her second try of the night with the assist from Mason Johnson. Gegeckas completed her second conversion of the game bringing the Bobcats up 24-0 with 21 minutes to go in the first half.

After a lineout at Army's 40, Roskopf sent the ball out to Caitria Sands for the fifth Quinnipiac try. The Bobcats closed out the half ws Roskopf got the ball out to Rebecca Haight for a try, and after the conversion was good, Quinnipiac led the game 36-0 going into halftime.

The second half saw Mason Johnson get another quick try to extend the Bobcats lead 41-0, and not even two minutes later, Tayler Schussler earned her first try of the game with an impressive 25-yard run, making the score up 46-0. Poole earned her third try in the 56th minute of the game after chipping the ball through the Army defense, chasing the ball down and bringing it into the try zone. Gegeckas scored her fourth conversion of the night and Bobcats extended their lead 53-0.

Army broke the shutout on a try in the 59th minute of the game, but with a little over 15 minutes left, Quinnipiac took the ball out of a scrum, and Johnson passed off to Poole who got the ball out to Maher for a 20-yard try, stretching their lead to 58-5. Maggie Myles then ran in for a try and kicked her own conversion to stretch the lead to 65-5. With little time to go in the second half Army converted a penalty kick, bringing the final score to 65-8.

With this win Quinnipiac's record goes to 10-1 while Army falls 5-5 completing their season. Quinnipiac will lnow face Central Washington this Sunday at 2:00 p.m. in the NIRA Championship game.