Women’s rugby team hopes to end season on positive note
Heading into its match against a rival Salt Lake City club team, Becca Ogden, an inside center on the Utah State University women’s rugby club, was worried about the size advantage SLC had on the Aggies.
With the presence of steady snowfall, Ogden said size played an even bigger factor in the match as Salt Lake beat the Aggies 17-8 Saturday on the HPER Field.
“Because of the snow, we needed to play more of a team game,” Ogden said. “With it [being] so slick it was hard passing, and so our speed didn’t really help us.”
Both Ogden and team captain Lauren Drietzler said the one area USU planned on using to its advantage against Salt Lake was the speed advantage of its backs.
However, with inclement weather conditions making it difficult to advance the ball down the field quickly, Ogden said Salt Lake was able to turn the match into a grind-it-out type of affair. USU would be in an uphill battle from the start of the match, she said.
“We needed to play more of a team game,” she said. “We needed more forward play, [but] couldn’t make long passes down the field.”
Down 7-0 in the first half, USU would close to within two when Ogden received a pass from teammate Lindsay Lovell for a try to make the score 7-5 SLC, Ogden said.
Unfortunately for the Aggies, Salt Lake would score again about 10 minutes into the second half to regain the momentum for good, Ogden said. Following a successful Aggie penalty kick, Salt Lake would punch the ball across the goal line, giving SLC the nine-point margin of victory.
Ogden said Saturday’s setback taught the Aggies the importance of an aggressive offense in bad weather conditions.
“We need to go out and be more aggressive from the get-go,” she said.
USU is scheduled to play in-state rival Weber State University next, but might play Idaho State University Wednesday night in Pocatello, Idaho, Ogden said. If not, the Aggies will close their season at home against the Wildcats.
The match will start at noon on the HPER Field.
With Utah State expecting to lose about half of its team at the semester’s end, Ogden said it is important the Aggies end the season on a high note for the departing players.
“You want them to remember it [the last game] well and have good memories,” she said. “It’s especially good for team morale to end the season on a winning note.”