The Quad

Issue date: 10/27/08 Section: Sports

Although the Lady Rams Rugby team lost last weekend's match to Shippensburg, dropping their season record to the .500 mark, they are still pumped up and ready to go next week at Princeton, and take home the EPRU crown for the third consecutive year.

Shippensburg is one of the better teams on the schedule for West Chester to face each season. They are the defending NCAA Division II champions, and the loss last weekend was the first time that the Red Raiders had triumphed over the talented West Chester squad.

Shippensburg has always been a big team, as well as experienced. Since they are a club team, they are allowed to have fifth year seniors playing with them. This is a major advantage, as West Chester lost one of the greatest senior groups to ever come through the system, if not the best. Shippensburg had at least five of these returning seniors, which contributed greatly to their victory.

West Chester was able to hold tough for 12 minutes in the match before Shippensburg scored their first try of the game, with a conversion. After a hard fought first half, the Rams trailed 12-0.

In their usual fashion, the Lady Rams came storming out the second half refreshed and with heightened spirits. They drove down the field and scored on their first possession with freshman Sarah Glick. This tightened the gap to 12-5; the closest the Lady Rams got all game. The Red Raiders would score three more tries before West Chester muscled one last try at the end of the game.

The final score was 31-12.

Junior captain Sasha Stauffer spoke on the game, saying the greatest attribution to the defeat was "the lack of communication on the field during the first half, as well as an absence of energy out on the field."

This has occurred consistently for West Chester this season, as the first half is usually slower paced and less productive. West Chester has been a second half team so far this year.

"I am very pleased with the team's progress, but we are in need for someone to step up and start scoring for the team," stated Coach Tony DeRemer on the performance Saturday.

At the end of last season, five of West Chester's all time leading scorers graduated, leaving West Chester with a lack of experience in that area.

"This will come with experience, as the team is just starting to gel," added DeRemer.

The team has scored only 14 tries in six games this season. They are averaging less then 13 points a game, which will rarely hold up in a game of rugby.

Continued...

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