Women’s rugby smokes Weber State
The Utah State University women’s rugby team had its best showing of the year to end the season Saturday afternoon with a win at home, Head Coach Troy Flores said.
Going into the game against Weber State University, the Aggies felt confident about how it would end, Flores said, but they didn’t expect to win 26-0.
Except for a few minutes at the start of the second half, the Aggies controlled the whole game, only allowing the Wildcats one or two opportunities to score. And even then it was because the Aggies missed a kick that bounced across their own goal line.
“They played well, it was probably their best game all season,” Flores said.
The Aggies feel like they played great all around, Flores said, especially improving on areas they have struggled with in the past, like coming out hard.
“One of the hardest things we’ve had for some reason, is we tend to spot teams points and play catch-up the whole match,” Flores said. “This time we took ’em. We went out there and scored right away.”
The first points of the game for the Aggies came from sophomore Lynny Anderson about 10 minutes into the game after the Aggies had been on the goal line fighting to get in for two or three minutes.
But the wealth didn’t stop there. USU continued to spread the ball around, giving three other players the opportunity to score.
Junior Rachael Ritchie scored her third try of the season ending the first half 12-0, and in the second half Becca Ogden and Shukria King – who scored the first try of her career, both scored with long runs through the Wildcats’ defense.
The coaches for the Aggies couldn’t be more excited for their team, Flores said.
“There weren’t any major mistakes today,” Flores said. “As a team they played really well, there was some really good individual play also, so there was no complaints. It was a good way to end the season.”
“We had some good sound tackles and played good defense,” assistant coach Dave Dyer said. “The girls really hustled and so I was proud of them.”
The Aggies feel good about the way the season ended and appreciate all the support they received from the crowd, captain Lauren Dreitzler said.
“If we continue to play like we are the next season will be even better than this season,” she said.