By Gavin Lindahl
Staff Writer
Last week’s game against Fredonia was more of the same for the ruggers. The St. Bonaventure women’s rugby team took on more injuries in another loss. But Coach Tracy Schrems is optimistic about the match itself.
“Fredonia is a really good team, and it was an absolute pleasure to play them,” Schrems said. “They played tough, clean rugby, and we learned a lot from them.”
For the first time, the team introduced the new offense they have been working on.
Although the team didn’t capitalize on any scoring chances, the new offense worked great, according to Schrems.
“For the first time this season, the girls discovered what it felt like to have the ball in our territory really close to our own try line,” Schrems said. “As frustrating as it is to not get it across the line and score, at least we didn’t spend the entire game in the opposition’s end of the field watching them run past us.”
Schrems also said that freshman Summer Lauber, sophomore Juette Joseph and sophomore Catherine Eaton are all young players who are picking the game up fast.
“She’s like a Volkswagen stopping a semi-truck,” Schrems said about Joseph. “She nailed every one of her tackles.”
But for all of Schrems’ excitement about the new offense and the young player’s success, the club’s list of injured players piled up.
“Most of my scrum and about half of my forwards are injured,” Schrems said. “But we still have heart.”
According to Schrems, many of the players are playing through their injuries. Her more seriously injured players, however, are sidelined and will not play until they’re cleared.
Sophomores Julia Rodriguez, Amber Williams, Juette Joseph and Kat Arredondo, juniors Corrine Lettieri, Erin Ballou and Arin Liszka and senior Myranda Garfield are the club’s currently sidelined players.
The ruggers will face off on the road Saturday against Geneseo, the top-seeded team in their division.
“They play textbook rugby,” Schrems said. “They are fast, capitalize on errors quickly and have a tough scrum.”
Schrems said she is expecting an overly physical, smash-mouth game from Geneseo.
“In the past, they have been excessively physical, so we’re trying to prepare for that kind of play,” Schrems said. “I imagine they are thinking they are going to run all over us, but that’s just not going to happen.”
The club has gotten new practice equipment this week that Schrems and her players feel are extremely helpful, and have already made an impact in practice.
Sophomore fly-half Rachel Noone said that the new equipment, especially the tackling pads, have been helpful for the injury-plagued club.
“The new equipment has helped a lot,” Noone said. “We can practice tackling and rucking without going one-on-one and possibly getting more injuries.”
Regardless of the score this week, Schrems is only looking for one thing from her players – effort. So far, she’s been impressed with what she has seen.
“I knew what I was dealing with when I stepped on the pitch this year, and the scores matter very little to me this season,” Schrems said. “We’re the Rudys of rugby, and we’re proud representatives of this university and everyone who calls themselves a Bonnie.”
