Another Sunday, another rainy day of rugby! With 15 hours of rest after our quarterfinal win
over Montclair State University, we headed up to Vassar to play a team that beat us a few weeks
back, but this time we came back with more reinforcements. With the rain and knowing
Vassar's playing style, we mentally prepared for a physical match, and they did not disappoint,
with a battle at every breakdown for a wet and uncooperative ball.
We broke the seal with a key tackle by second row Veronica McAdams '25, and quick and strong
counter rucking by flanker Jaqueline O'Connor '27, which led to two quick pickups giving inside
center Emily Raia '24 the gap to burst through and score.
Vassar responded in kind by increasing the aggression on the breakdown, and despite some
excellent tackling, Vassar responded back with a try of their own.
The rest of the half was a WWI re-enactment with heavy rain and ruck-to-ruck battle at each
breakdown. The Red Ruggers displayed amazing discipline and decision-making in defense,
holding up 2 tries and making it uncomfortable for Vassar to play their game.
Unfortunately, we suffered too many penalties and with the ref calling very long advantage, it
was difficult for the team to adjust to penalties that occurred several phases in the past. A
momentary breakdown in a split-field defense gave Vassar an overload in the 30th minute to
score, ending the half with Fairfield only down one try.
The second half started with similar play, and a missed opportunity to clear the ball within our
22 led to a quick try by Vassar to get to a 5-17 lead. The rain continued to create difficulties on
the field, and I can only surmise that the rain also caused a lack of visual and mental acuity
amongst the official on the field, as we received confounding penalties, including a yellow card,
which gave Vassar another opportunity to score at the 52nd minute. We begin to adjust to
Vassar's pattern by doing our own quick rucks, but we were a bit unprepared to support the
pickups. However, the disruption was enough to allow inside center Emily Raia '24 another

opportunity to outrun her defense (and sometimes her support) to score and convert her own
try. With time left to make up for a 10-point deficit, Fairfield worked furiously to contest every
ruck, with prop Tina Coleman '24 single-handedly creating turnovers whenever she had the
opportunity. McAdams '25 and the forwards provided incredible defense in holding up 2 tries in
the try zone, to keep Vassar close. Unfortunately, with too many unlucky circumstances, and
confusing and inconsistent officiating, it was difficult for Fairfield to find a pattern to attack
Vassar. However, we kept the score close, and gave Vassar something to think about for our next
meetup.
From here, we are now awaiting the results of our At Large bid for the NCR National
Championships to go to the Round of 16. While we wait for news, we continue to practice in
hopeful anticipation of more rugby in our future!
Match Report submitted by Jane Kim – Head Coach, Women's Rugby