The women’s rugby team outscored Colby 46-7 on Saturday, maintaining its perfect record in league play and entering the playoffs as the first seed.
Bowdoin (8-0, 5-0 NESCRC) will host the NESCRC playoffs on Saturday, November 3.
Colby and Bowdoin played back and forth in the midfield during the first few minutes, with neither team gaining many yards until the Bowdoin backline broke through, carrying the ball deep into Colby’s defensive zone.
Scrumhalf Kameryn Sanchez ’14 passed to prop Anissa Tanksley ’14 who broke through the Colby defense line to score the match’s first try.
Randi London ’15 converted the kick to make the score 7-0.
In the week leading up to the game, Coach MaryBeth Mathews says she emphasized catching and passing drills at practice.
“Last week at practice the focus was on improving their ball handling,” Mathews said. “We also worked on the mental skill of anticipation so they can react with quicker organization and realignment both offensively and defensively on phase play.”
The changes in practice clearly paid off, as the team scored four more tries by the end of the first half.
Captain Kerry Townsend ’13 was able to stretch the Colby defense and scored three tries in the match by sprinting to the corners of the try-zone. She also assisted on a try for winger Charlotte Kleiman ’15.
Though Bowdoin ended the match victorious, Colby was more aggressive in the second half, forcing several Bowdoin penalties. The Mules inside center strung together several strong runs up the middle, ultimately letting Colby touch the ball down underneath the posts to put their first points on the board.
Bowdoin resorted to kicking the ball while on defense to disrupt the Colby momentum and force a turn-over.
Captain Uche Esonu ’13, London and Ally Glass-Katz ’16 each scored one try apiece in the second half to put the game out of reach.
Mathews said higher quality passes were a major factor in the win.
“The results in this game were that the backline had improved passing, and that was evident in their ability to move the ball more quickly to space, allowing for scores on the outside, by the wing and fullback,” Mathews said. “While there is still more work to be done, their passing, depth and pace were much better.”