WOMEN'S RUGBY

Women's Rugby: Young Cadets Rocked By Stonehill, 55-10

EASTON, Mass. - It took less than a minute for Northeast Champions and No. 2 nationally ranked Stonehill College to put a score on the board as standout flanker Melissa Moylan returned the opening kick-off 60 meters for the try. Moylan went on to score three more tries in the first half en route to a 36-0 half-time lead.

Stonehill poured it on in the second half en route to a 55-10 victory.

The No. 11-ranked Cadets, who returned to the field for the first time since mid-November when they lost to Stonehill by eight points, featured a young crew of inexperienced players. Eight freshmen started and a total of 10 saw action, while five players played their inaugural match in a maroon and gold jersey.

After 74 minutes of play, sophomore #8 Alicia Seda finally broke the Stonehill defense with a pick from the back of a Norwich scrum. Seda's play throughout the match was dominant, especially with ball-in-hand, and her try was well-deserved. Just four minutes later, freshman prop Keely Blyth, took a pass from junior Molly Patterson and raced in for her first career try. Blyth was playing in her first rugby match for the Cadets. 

"Stonehill is as good as any team we've ever played," said Norwich head coach Austin Hall. "They are headed to the national round of 16 in two weeks and we know they have a good chance to be the No. 1 team in the country. We greatly enjoy playing them and we wish them the best as they move forward.

"While we struggled to find any consistency in our game, there were some bright moments for us," added Hall. "A number of our attacks through the forward pack were strong, but we'd have a silly turnover or penalty that would prevent us from finishing. Defensively, we were scattered for much of the game, but the few times we returned to our structure, we executed it very well. 

"Our heads are up and we're excited to host St. Michael's and Middlebury in a couple weeks.  I think we've come out of our winter shells and we will work to get back on track these next couple weeks."

April 18 will see the Cadets play host to St. Michael's College and Middlebury College in round-robin non-league format. Kickoff times will be determined later this week.