Fischer, O’Malley have huge second halves leading #12 Women’s Rugby to exciting win over stubborn Boston College
Senior Laura Fischer connected on all three huge second half penalty kicks, while fellow senior Katie O’Malley scored two late tries, propelling #12 Women’s Rugby (2-0) to a 33-14 win over visiting Boston College(0-2) Friday night under the lights on the Rec Fields.
Senior Maeghan Kilfoil got the home team on the board in the 8th minute touching the ball down off a mad scramble in the corner of the try zone. Boston College would respond 5 minutes later, smashing through Stonehill’s defense and converting the kick for a 7-5 lead. Fischer would swing the momentum back to Stonehill scoring on a short break, and O’Malley would convert, but the lead would be short lived as BC regained the lead 14-12 on another converted try 5 minutes before the break.
8 minutes into the second half the ladies continual pressure began to wear down Boston College, resulting in a penalty directly in front of the post; Fischer calmly slotted the ensuing kick, and the ladies now lead 15-14. With the lead, the Purple and Black relaxed and got back to their game, causing two more BC penalties deep in their own end. Fischer would hit both high pressure kicks, and with 20 minutes remaining the lead was 21-14. 10 minutes later O’Malley would slice through the BC defense from 10 meters out and this time Fischer would convert as the lead swelled to 28-14. In the final minutes, O’Malley would put the nail in the coffin, beating two defenders to the corner for the final score. Kilfoil and fellow seniors Ashley George, Brittany Roy and Olivia Gorab all had a huge part in the win as well as junior center Shannon Clancy who had a huge night tackling in her first start. “Tonight was certainly a gut check for us,” commented Head Coach Derek Jenesky, “BC came after us with everything they had in the first half, but we were able to weather the storm, and perform when we needed to. I am very proud of the resolve we showed on a very important night”
The ladies next game will be at Bryant University on Saturday, October 2nd at 1:00pm.