Courtesy of Brian Beard

Editor’s Note, Sunday, September 21, at 7:15 p.m.: In a previous version of this article, Kimberly McNamara was listed instead of Kristin Zdanczewicz, who was brought in as the Mathews Coaching Fellow. The article has been updated to reflect this.

Last Saturday afternoon, in the opening match of its first Division II season, the women’s rugby team (1–0) triumphed over the University of New Haven. Ending the match with a 79–33 win, the team’s inaugural DII campaign is off to a promising start.

Despite the game’s outcome for the Polar Bears, the first half was contentious. After the first ten minutes of play, both teams had traded tries and were tied 14–14.

“I feel like the goal differential doesn’t really reflect how it felt in the game. It definitely felt like we were fighting head-to-head the whole game, because they had some really influential players who were definitely a huge threat to our team,” flanker Lulu Linkas ’26 said. “But I think that we handled it really well.”

The Polar Bears continued to score throughout the first half, soaring into the lead. Still, the Chargers remained competitive, and, at the last moment, the Polar Bears lost control of the ball. New Haven cut the lead to only 13 points with the last-minute score.

“That could have been one of those moments where they took the momentum and kept swinging, and we let the pressure get to us. But I think we all recognized that that was such a crucial moment,” flyhalf Evie Hamer ’26 said. “I think we went into the second half with the mindset of, ‘We can’t let that moment stop us.’”

Refusing to buckle under the pressure, the Polar Bears pulled off a strong finish. The team began the second half by extending its lead, scoring 27 points and securing the win.

“We were able to have a group mindset change,” Linkas said. “And we all individually showed up and then came together as a team with that same goal.”

Not only did the team land multiple tries during both halves, but it also had particularly strong defensive moments. Despite being the smaller team, the Polar Bears were able to take control of the scrums with the help of the team’s forwards and flankers.

“I like to think that defense is the best offense,” Linkas said. “They had one player who was essentially breaking our line every time,… so getting a few good hits on her felt really good, because it was basically shutting down the main threat on their team and taking her out of that play.”

The New Haven match is an optimistic opening to the team’s first DII campaign. Formed as a DIII team, the team has debated switching divisions over the last few years and played several matches against DI and DII teams last season. Ultimately, the team decided to change divisions to be challenged in ways it could not be in the smaller, less competitive DIII league.

“We’ve been a leader in DIII for a really long time, and we’re seeking an opportunity where we’re punching up, and we’re not the one driving the development, but, rather, we have an opportunity to chase somebody else,” Head Coach Laura Miller said. “I think it’s a lot healthier for the program to be in a situation where we don’t know the outcome of every game going in, and everything is a contest.”

To help players of all backgrounds succeed at the new level, including the walk-ons the team welcomes each year, Kristin Zdanczewicz was brought in as the Mathews Coaching Fellow and assistant athletic trainer to focus on developing beginner players.

“We’ve added in a third coach specifically to work with those walk-ons so that [Assistant Coach James Read and I], who’ve been here for years, can really tackle the competitive team,” Miller said. “The goal is for them to be consistently shifting up and competing for a spot on the capacity team.”

The players are enthusiastic for the new challenge and eager to put in the work to play at the DII level.

“We’re competing for the postseason with these really competitive teams. We really have to do well. And having that pressure is a really great way to keep the intensity up and keep pushing ourselves to be better. So I’m excited about it,” Hamer said.