Saratoga Mustangs Thump Rutland: Take Super A & A Games to Win Season Opener

The Saratoga Mustangs Girls U-19 Rugby Club won their Vermont Youth Rugby Association debut with a hard hitting, hard running shutout victory over Rutland, 10-0.

With wind whipping across the field and snow keeping home field Shenentaha Creek Park closed, the Saratoga Mustangs hosted Rutland at SUNY Albany’s field on Saturday, April 5th. For sixty minutes, Saratoga’s "Super A" Team's spirited play results in punishing runs and tackles by forwards and backs, alike. From the opening kickoff, Saratoga showed they had something to prove. Spending most of the first half in Rutland’s half of the field, the constant pressure and quality tackles started increasing the pressure on Rutland’s back, causing sloppy passes despite some solid runs by their all-star prop and wing. The end result was the first try of the season, scored by line captain Joann Pettis (Bunt Hills).

Set pieces were also dominated by Saratoga whose hard driving scrum and strong line-outs, featuring sophomore jumper Sam Coluccio (Burnt Hills, pictured right), made capitalizing on miscues difficult for Rutland. Senior Emily Wexler’s (Burnt Hills) play at scrum-half helped lead a balanced running attack which featured pounding runs by senior captain Jess Sears (Burnt Hills, pictured above left), junior Tiffany Neach (Burnt Hills) and rookie senior second row Shelby Snyder (Scotia). This set up a triple threat backfield featuring junior fly-half Pettis, sophomore phenom Carly Baker (Averil Park), playing inside center, and the speedy senior Quennah Holt (Bethlehem) playing outside center.

Not everything went Saratoga’s way, however. Minutes into the game, senior NRU (Northeast Rugby Union) All-Star eight-man Maddy Cocca (Niskayuna) was twisted up in a tackle and suffered a broken ankle, potentially ending her senior season and devastating her team mates. Fellow loose forward, junior Eva Meier (Ballston Spa), slid over from flanker into Maddy’s role and quickly dolled out some punishing hits of her own, both off of open play and from the back of the scrum. After the game, the coaches unanimously elected Meier as the “Rugger of the Match” for the Super A's, an honor bestowed upon one player after each contest, representing the coaching staff’s selection as the best player on the pitch that day.

The second half was also hard fought and the early season’s game began to slow as fatigue and bruising set in. Consistent play from veterans such as junior second row Marianna Carta and sophomore hook Katie Dannenberg (Burnt Hills), and the foot and open field tackles of freshman fullback Khirstian Carbonello (Burnt Hills) helped continue to keep Rutland from scoring, despite a few close calls. Junior wing Autumn Vanderveer and sophomore wing Leah Gerlach (Burnt Hills) also provided stellar defense making several key tackles to thwart scoring threats from Rutland and keep the game 5-0. In the end, it was Dannenberg’s head’s up play, scooping the loose ball from the ground and driving into the try zone, that sealed the victory, bringing the score to its final 10-0 tally.

Saratoga’s flexibility allowed it to use 20 different players from it’s Super A-Side roster. Burnt Hills sophomore flanker Sarah Cranfield, and juniors Jen Rohling (scrum-half), Haley Brown (hook), and Nadia Alvarez (prop) all played significant roles in keeping Rutland on its heals and providing fresh legs at critical times. Although the season is young, it certainly looks bright for 2008!

Rookies Perform Well, Step Into Big Shoes

Saratoga Mustangs “A” team also claimed victory on the pitch versus Rutland. In a much slower paced game, predominated by rookies to the sport on both sides, Saratoga’s intensity was again predominant. Led by four junior veterans, including front rows Haley Brown and Nadia Alvarez, scrum-half Jen Rohling, and fly-half Olivia Guay (all of Burnt Hills), this game was possibly more exciting than the Super A match that concluded thirty minutes prior.

In much of the same spirit, many of the remaining new comers to Saratoga’s stable of 48 players cut their teeth against the much more established Rutland Rugby Club. The contest was hard fought, featuring a swan-dive score by freshman flanker Maranda Rotunda (Burnt Hills), but looked like it would end in a hard fought tie at 5-5. With only injury time remaining, eventual “Rugger of the Match”, freshman eight-man Melayna Weaver (Burnt Hills), under the watchful eye of her uncle and long time eight-man for the Albany Knicks, Tony Leva, picked up the ball off of the back of the scrum and pinballed her way twenty meters for the go ahead score as time expired, allowing Saratoga to snatch a 10-5 victory. This effort prompted fans to ask Mr. Leva how it felt to be the second best rugby player in his family.

Saratoga's Record: Super A Team 1-0, A Team 1-0.