SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – The Notre Dame College women's rugby team defended Mueller Field on Saturday, in their only home match of the season, with a sizable victory over the University of Cincinnati, 65-17. For two teams battling near the top of the National Collegiate Rugby rankings, NDC controlled the match from the very beginning. The Falcons finished the regular season with an 8-1 record.
Prior to the match, the program recognized graduating Seniors Rmani Hannah-Mack,
Michelle Majewski,
Christenvie Ngangu,
Kelly Wallenhorst and
Aviana Matteo.
The energy of the crowd drove the success of the match, with many families, friends, fans, and the NDC men's rugby team in attendance. The team was already excited to play at home, and the atmosphere only added to it.
"The team set the tone early in the match and played on their front foot for most of the first half," head coach
Jack Nece said. "We gained momentum early and maintained it for considerable amount of time."
Scoring efforts were led by
Alivia Leatherman and
Christenvie Ngangu, both scoring three tries each. Strong offensive efforts were led by
Kennedy Miller,
Aviana Matteo, and
Kelly Wallenhorst, scoring her first try of her collegiate carrier on her Senior Day.
"Cincinnati helped expose some areas where we are in need of some further work, which was helpful," Nece mentioned. "We are looking forward to a great week of practice and growth to carry in to this weekend."
Defensively, the Falcons were led by
Mary McLoughlin and
Sarah Valentine, having multiple hard tackles that set the tone for the day.
"The team has showed great progress over the season," Nece said. "For a year we were not even supposed to play any 15s matches, we have outscored our opponents be an average of 60 points. I can't ask for much more than that"
Notre Dame will travel to Syracuse, N.Y. this weekend to play the regional bracket of the Division I National Collegiate Rugby Tournament. NDC is the six seed and their first opponent will be No. 13 Roger Williams University, on Nov. 13.
