By Giovanni Mio, QBSN Staff Writer
The Bobcats’ women’s rugby team set two new records today, getting their first ever 3-0 start in program history while defeating SUNY New Paltz (0-2, 0-1 TRI-STATE) 94-0, a new program high, Sunday afternoon at the QU Rugby Field.
“It’s a six on a scale of one to ten,” said head coach Rebecca Carlson. “It’s not the scoring that makes me happy, it’s when we do the technique right at the beginning of the game.”
With the win, Quinnipiac (3-0) (1-0 TRI-STATE) has now scored 185 unanswered points dating back to their 91-0 win over Binghamton.
The Bobcats will be on the road for their next game, as they’ll square off against Vassar Sept. 23 at 1 p.m.
“Vassar’s one of the most competitive teams in our conference,” said Carlson. “They’re going take it to us strong, but we’re going back to fundamentals. It’s going to be exciting.”
Both teams struggled to score in the beginning of the first half. Quinnipiac and New Paltz would proceed to exchange scrums in each team’s respective sides of the field while having a line-out from time to time.
With 24 minutes left to go, the Bobcats struck first, when sophomore outside center Elisa Cuellar (Palm Bay, Fla.) caught a pass and ran it 20 yards for the first try of the game. After a missed conversion from senior fullback Krystin Orrico (Cranford, N.J.), Quinnipiac led the Hawks 5-0.
“I think we played well as a team today,” said Cuellar.
Once the first try was scored, the Bobcats started to pour it on. For the rest of the first half, Quinnipiac converted four tries and one conversion to enter the second 27-0.
Once the second half started, senior Katie Wood (Hamilton, N.J.) made a vicious tackle to a New Paltz player that forced her to cough up the ball. Senior fly half Colleen Doherty (Ashburnham, Mass.) picked it up and passed it to fellow classmate Nancy Dunn (Moscow, Pa.), who scored a try. The Bobcats continued to convert tries almost every other minute until the final seconds.
“We conditioned very well in the summer and we know that we have more strength and unity,” said Cuellar.
