Match Report
Saturday 11/11/2023
Fairfield 14 – University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire 29
 
Fairfield received an at-large bid to play in the Midwest Regionals of the NCR National Championships. As the only unranked team in the championships, we received the lowest seed in the playoffs, thus facing the 2022 National Champions, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, who has not lost a game since 2021 and has enjoyed an average score differential this season of 75 (yes, you read that right, seventy-five) points.
 
Given the size differential of the players, Fairfield set out to play an aggressively fast game, to stifle big runs and to disrupt the UWUC's pace and timing. The fear of a Midwest large and dominant pack was scuttled at the first scrum as FU's pack drew a penalty as UWEC's pack was unable to hold their weight. From there, the Red Ruggers played fierce defense and stopped 2 solid breakaways, denying UWEC's winger her go-to tries. And unlucky knock-on off the lineout, gave possession to UWEC in our 22 and they were able to recycle the ball to punch through and start the scoring at the 14th minute.
 
Fairfield's confidence grew as the game progressed, and they increased the pressure on defense, and stole some of the thunder from UWEC. Dominant tackling and rucking, led by second row Grace Harasimowicz '24 and prop Cristina Coleman '24 drew several penalties, which we utilized with clean lineouts combined with smart and strategic kicking from Julia Demetropoulous '25 gave us 2 penalty kick conversions to trail UWEC 6-12 at the half.
 
An early ankle injury unfortunately sidelined captain Emily Raia '24 who was relieved by rookie Katie Quinn '26 and caused a bit of disruption in the Fairfield defensive line, allowing UWEC to outnumber us on the outside, allowing 2 more tries within the first 8 minutes. However, winger Devyn Ruiz '24 and outside center Maggie Kelly '25 shifted in and provided momentum-killing tackles and turnovers, keeping UWEC's backs from piercing through. The forwards then appeared to make a collective decision that the no longer wanted to play defense, and took initiative to administer a series of blistering tackles and turnovers, taking back the ball and then recycling the ball with forward punches up the field. Prop Hannah Bershefsky '25 made "take-no-prisoners" carries to move the ball up the field, with speedy and commanding ruck support by flanker Ava Hiel '26, prop Coleman '24 and number eight Lauren Cunneen '26 kept the ball alive until second-row Veronica McAdams '25 plucked the ball at the 2-meter line and carried it over for a try. The next 17 minutes were battles of both sides trying to utilize their backlines to move the ball, but an unlucky turnover gave UWEC the momentum within our 22 to spin the ball out wide for another try. The last 8 minutes, FU made a furious comeback by taking the ball back to move it back up the field using the same tactics that worked for the earlier try, but we ran out of time, ending the game in defeat, 14 – 29, earning the respect of many who expected UWEC to breeze through this match with little fanfare. A wonderful NCR Nationals debut performance by the Fairfield women in this larger national stage.
 
 
Match Report
Sunday 11/12/2023
Fairfield 38 – Grand Valley State University 5
 
Our consolation match was against Grand Valley State University (Allendale, MI), the Great Lakes conference champions, with a 6-0 record and an average point differential of 63 points.
 
Team injuries and a limited roster required us to take a more creative approach to our lineup. Like UW-Eau Claire, GVSU has larger players, looking to use their size and strength to crash through. However, we noticed that their fitness was not on par with ours, so we looked to provide solid defense in the first half, followed by a wave of fitness to overcome their team in the second half.
 
We snapped to action with the kickoff, which was fumbled by GVSU and recovered by second-row Lauren Cunneen '26, which kick-started an aggressive series of rucking phases, followed by a deep run by fullback Julia Demetropoulous '25 to set up a quick pick and go by scrumhalf Brigid Muller '25 to touch it down and set the tone by scoring within the first 3 minutes of the game.
 
With that quick try, GVSU stepped up their game and the real battle began. Fairfield's speed of play and utilization of quick picks off messy rucks made GVSU very uncomfortable, and in their frustration and desperation, they kept diving into the rucks, drawing multiple penalties which allowed us to better our field positions. Forward captain Grace Harasimowicz '24 led by example with her flurry of chop tackles, preventing GVSU from making the gain line off the rucks. Extremely strong defensive play by flanker Jacqueline O'Connor '27, stopping two breakaway tackles from behind and for tackling GVSU's best player off the penalty, allowing captain Emily Raia '24 to pick the ball and make her patented breakaway run for the second try.
 
Fairfield maintained possession for most of the second half but had difficulty finding the outer edges of the space, so we ended the half up 12-0. Kudos go to prop Alyssa Bruno '25 and hooker Catherine Zarella '24 to provide fresh legs to set the tone on the field by dominating the scrums, injecting doubt in GVSU's forwards.
 
With expectations that GVSU used up most of their gas in the first half, we put in our forward Trojan Horse reserves, hooker Kayla Fox '25 and prop Hannah Bershefsky '25 to provide the explosive energy and power to lead the forwards in the second half. Together, with "never-say-die" stamina from prop Cristina Coleman '24 (who played a full 160 minutes of rugby this weekend), we administered the pain. Ironically, this resulted in super-dominant scrums that forced GVSU to collapse, but instead of a penalty to Fairfield, play continued, and the confusion allowed GVSU to pick up the loose ball and run it in for a quick try in the first 4 minutes).
 
Fairfield quickly answered back by wasting no time in getting a turnover from GVSU's faltering hands, then moving the ball forward, powered by a 30m carry by inside center Maggie Kelly '25, where the team finished by tackling the opponent at the 1 m line, for rookie O'Connor '27 to pick and put it down for her first try.
 
O'Connor '27 returned the favor 13 minutes later by making her own 40-meter run, with Kelly '25 finishing the phase with a run outside for another try. As GVSU started to tire, Fairfield continued to heat up, spending most of the time in the green zone (inside the 22) with an unplanned sibling play, with second-row replacement Molly Muller '27 carrying the ball to the 5-meter mark, with scrum-half sister Brigid Muller '26 picking the ball to dive in for the try. With the remainder of our reserves in to finish strong, we caught a glimpse of the future, showcasing our continuity and communication, with little disruption in defensive and offensive structure. In a poetic finish, senior Raia '24 despite an ankle injury, made one last juke to carry the ball 15 meters, allowing sophomore Cunneen '26 to punch through the hole to score the final try.
 
It was a day of showcasing the culmination of rugby patterns and plays from everyone on the team; from a smart grubber kick by flyhalf Kate Robertson '26 out of our try zone to get Fairfield out of trouble, to the adjustment in the tackle style to stop GVSU's crashing through the gain line; and communicative defense that pressured GVSU to drop and miss catches. Fairfield showcased constant support and willingness to loosen our 1-3-3-1 structure a bit to allow for more ball flow to prevent the opponents from settling in. Our scrums were dominant, despite our smaller size, showcasing our technique and problem-solving skills in all aspects of the game.
 
We end our fall season with a third-place finish in the Midwest Regional tournament. Fairfield was the only unranked team to be in the National Championships, and hopefully our performance will be reflected in future rankings. We salute our seniors who represented their university with pride and a display of good sportsmanship and leadership, leaving this 15's team stronger than when they first found it. Thank you all for making all of us better!
 
Cristina Coleman
Grace Harasimowicz (Forwards Captain)
Julia Kilroy
Courtney O'Connor
Emily Raia (Backs Captain)
Devyn Ruiz
Catherine Zarrella