Courtesy of Brian Beard

The women’s rugby team defeated the University of New Haven (2–4) 69–21 on the road last Saturday. The win follows a loss against Dartmouth College (2–0) in an exhibition match the previous weekend—part of the team’s most challenging season line-up yet.

The match started with a strong defensive presence from the Polar Bears. It did not take long for the team to pull ahead as they scored the first four tries of the contest. After just 19 minutes, Bowdoin held a 26—0 lead over New Haven.

“We brought the intensity in the first few minutes. With a great defensive launch … we were able to exploit a gap in New Haven’s defense and score a try that way. It was really a great team effort that resulted in us scoring,” Rebecca Vakarau ’25 said.

Despite Bowdoin’s lead, New Haven—a team that recently moved up to Division II—began to show its strength and push back. The Polar Bears almost lost their advantage as the score tightened to 36—21 midway through the second half of the game.

“I think when [New Haven] started coming back that was a bit more unexpected,” Sachi Mehra ’28 said. “I think they must have had a really good halftime talk, because they came out with momentum.”

Still, the team was able to rally against the mounting pressure and end the game strong with a 33–0 run, making the final score 69–21. Overall, the match served as a major milestone for the team’s season: its first win and proof of its ability to play against teams in higher divisions

The game also gave the team’s newer members a chance to prove themselves on an individual level. Ginger Arnold ’27 and Mehra scored their first career tries during the match. Mehra, who recently started playing rugby at Bowdoin, spoke about the excitement of scoring her first try.

“I’m really happy. I scored my first try, which is super awesome.… I was really just fighting to get there because I just wanted it,” Mehra said. “[But] I think I definitely have some things I want to work on … throughout the season.”

While the match was an overall success, it highlighted weaknesses the team will try to address as it moves through the rest of its season.

“[New Haven] also had some really strong attacking threats, and that forces our defense to be much more dynamic and not so compressed.… It forces us to spread out and be able to play the whole field. I think that’s an area where we struggled, and that we’re working to correct right now,” Head Coach Laura Miller said.

With only two games under their belt so far this season, the Polar Bears are looking forward to the rest of their season. In a cross-divisional schedule designed to challenge the team, it will take on both Division I and Division II schools in the upcoming weeks. Depending on their performance, the Polar Bears might formally request to transfer them out of Division III and into either Division I or II. The whole season will be a test, and more formidable matches still await the team.

“Bishop’s [University] later on is also an incredibly strong Canadian team,” Miller said. “Canadian rugby, I would say, is a whole other level up from where we are, and so I think that that will be a real test.”

The players are enthusiastic for the extra challenge this season’s schedule brings. They see these new games against competitive teams as opportunities for growth both together as a team and as individual players.

“It’s really awesome to have DI teams on the schedule this season. We’ve been just keeping up with DI teams and how they’ve been playing against each other,” Vakarau said. “There were a lot of milestones in this match…. It was super rewarding to be able to see our teammates achieve their personal goals and share in their excitement and their progress. I think that’s what makes rugby so much fun.”

Tomorrow, the team will travel to New Jersey to play its next DI opponent: Princeton University (0–2).