They hit low and drove forward, but the Dirty Ducks’ push for the national tournament in Florida came up short in their final battle of the season.
Oregon’s chance to advance ended Saturday in the Pacific Coast Rugby Football Union Tournament at Stanford University when the Ducks lost 44-13 to an up-tempo UC Davis squad.
“We just haven’t had that kind of competition at that level,” coordinator Katie Cobb said. “Just coming from that level, most of their points were scored on breakaways … We were definitely knocking on their door the whole time and that is all we could ask for from all of our girls.”
In a year that saw the No. 21 Ducks (9-2 overall, 4-0 Pacific Northwest League) emerge from league play unscathed and win their sixth-consecutive PNL title, junior Molly Regan said the season’s unofficial close was disappointing, but not defining. The match, in fact, yielded optimism, excitement and some great memories.
“For me, having the bond with my players and the experience of going down there (and) seeing how hard they hit and how hard they fought made it awesome,” Regan said. “I’ve played almost every sport that a woman can play and I’ve never felt more on a team than I have with the rugby team.”
She and other teammates are already looking forward to next season.
“Even though the season technically ended for us, we return everybody but three seniors,” said Megan Adams, who added that Oregon will likely compete in more scrimmages and friendly matches this spring. “The majority of our team is made up of freshmen and rookies. So we are already looking at having another great season next year and making it to nationals for the first time since 2002.”
“The want and the drive is more than I’ve ever seen it,” Regan said.
The 30 Dirty Ducks who traveled to Stanford were among a mix of squads that included No. 1 Chico State, No. 3 Stanford, No. 16 UC Davis, California, Humboldt State and Oregon State. While Stanford fought off Chico State in the finals to win the tournament and secure their spot at the national tournament, which will be hosted by the University of Florida, Oregon needed the victory against the Aggies to advance.
“Our team put out a solid effort but it just didn’t come together as much as we had hoped,” Adams said. “Sticking our tackles was one part that could have helped us stay in the game since their scores only came on breakaways.”
In her first game starting, junior Brittany Stepnioski led the forward pack with a try against the Aggies. Regan also added a score and sophomore Liz Kilgore nailed a penalty kick.
“They play a different game than we play,” Regan said. “They play a lot of quick pop and strong kicks for the backs to run onto.”
Adams said that the majority of the Dirty Ducks will also try out for the Loggers, a 23-and-under squad that hosts some of Washington’s and Oregon’s premier players.