League Openers!

Last weekend we faced Stanford in our first league game, because#Saturdayisarugbyday. Anyone who saw it would agree that it was one heck of a game. We went into the second half ahead 12-0, only to fall slightly behind in the last 5 minutes with the final score of 12-14. We proved to ourselves and to Stanford that they can't roll over us. We put ourselves on everyone's radar today. Shoutout to honorable mention Paige Steiding (8-man), and Becca Lehman (wing) for having a standout performance! Both have been players of the games before and both continue to show how much power and prowess they have on the field.

Today we faced Cal. Last season we ended up losing to Berkeley both games. Our last home game against them was so close, but a run down the field by their full back CJ Whiteside cost us the game in the final minutes. However this season our team is back with a power and discipline much stronger than previous years. After a tough and close loss last weekend against Stanford (12-14) the Aggies picked up their spirits and brought it to Cal at their home field this weekend. We started off the game strong with a try within the first 2 minutes by 8-man Paige Steiding. We continued our momentum by dominating in speed, aggression, and assertiveness at the breakdown. Our hands were a little shaky in the beginning dropping many balls and our aggressiveness cost us many penalties, however we kept our energy and didn’t allow Berkeley to take advantage. About 8 minutes away from the first half Cal’s scrum half received a yellow card, putting her out of the game for the remaining minutes. 57 minutes into the game Cal’s full back CJ Whiteside scored the Bear’s first conversion. Followed shortly by another try by Whiteside. Berkeley was able to stretch the field and swing the ball out wide. Final score was (52-0). We had many standout performances today, wing Becca Lehman converted 6 tries. Tag team fly-half Reid and full-back Shum showed great teamwork today scoring 2 tries together. Erica Hipp also had an amazing performance today. With a try off an intercepted Bear pass and another beautiful run down the field, she is an incredible force for the Aggies! Many people didn’t expect anything of us this season. Primarily because we are a team comprised 90% of 1st and 2nd years and almost 50% of our starting lineup are rookies (completely new to the game). We’ve proved to the rugby community that this is only the beginning of our incredible season. We are so excited to continue our work throughout the season.