Women's Rugby Holds off Harvard in NIRA Semifinals

Saturday, November 13

Cambridge, MA

12 P.M.

Army West Point

Harvard University

Women's Rugby Holds off Harvard in NIRA Semifinals

November 13, 2021 | Women's Rugby

GAME 9
SCORE	Army 25, Harvard 17
RECORDS	Army (7-2) Harvard ( 6-2)
LOCATION	Cambridge, Mass.

CAMBRIDGE, MA. --- Army West Point women's rugby punched its ticket to the National Intercollegiate Rugby Championship after downing Harvard 25-17 on Saturday afternoon.

Sophia Linder played a huge role in Army's offensive success, recording a hat trick for the first time this season. Codi Butt was another strong offensive player for the Black Knights, scoring one penalty kick and a conversion. Sydney Shaaf also helped put points on the board for the Cadets, scoring one try. Emma Richards-Smith and Kate Hartford made a big impact for Army coming off the bench. The two Cadets helped keep the energy alive on the field while also keeping the intensity up on the field.

How It Happened

The teams were evenly match from the start with the ball staying in the middle of the pitch. Army slowly pushed the ball towards Harvard's end of the pitch. Kaylee Cargile broke through the Crimson's line making her way to the five-yard line before passing it off to Linder who finished the play in the try zone to give Army the 5-0 lead. Harvard answered the Black Knights' try with a try and a conversion to take a 7-5 lead.

Later on in the half, Butt capitalized on a penalty kick to give the Black Knights a 8-7 lead over Harvard. The Black Knights passed the ball around before Linder made a run for the try zone. Butt completed the conversion to up Army's lead to 15-7 over the Crimson. Harvard scored another try and conversion to make the score 15-14 in Army's favor at the half.

At the start of the second half, Army kept the ball near Harvard's end off the pitch. Schaaf made a run for the try zone increasing Army's lead to 20-14. The Black Knight's were able to hold the Crimson from scoring for 18 minutes. Harvard took advantage of a penalty kick, cutting Army's lead to 20-17. Less than two minutes later, Butt broke for the try line but was halted at the five-yard line. Linder caught a pass and continued the push to the try zone for her third try of the match. Army was able to hold Harvard off for the last ten minutes, winning the match 25-17 to advance to the NIRA Championship.

Inside the Box Score

Two different Cadets found the try zone for the Black Knights
The Black Knights snapped a two-game losing streak to Harvard.

Coach's Corner
"We took the long way to get there, it's been fun. Our schedule this season helped us with our toughness. We had one weekend off, but after that we wanted to play every weekend to get better. The more the play you the better you get. We are mentally strong right now, which is important heading into the NIRA Championship. I am so happy and proud of this team. We held them [Harvard] for the last ten minutes at our try line, which is hard to do. This team played tough today, they had grit. It comes down to heart and that's what they showed.Even though it was an away match, it felt like a home event. We had our own fans there supporting us and we could not be more grateful. That support was important in tough moments today, the team loved it and it meant a lot to them to see Cadets and fans at the match." - Head coach Bill LeClerc

Up Next

Army prepares for the NIRA Championship match as the Black Knights will take on the top-seeded Dartmouth.