The Saratoga Mustangs Girls Super A Team moved on to the State Championship Game with a 37-0 blowout victory over the #3 seed Rutland on Wednesday at SUNY Albany. After completing a 6-1 regular season campaign in which they outscored opponents 115-31, and after mashing its way to a NYMA Cup Championship last weekend with wins over Springfield and a combined team from Springfield and Albany/Schenectady/Rennselaer, Saratoga picked up right where it left off using a combination of smashing runs by the forwards and quick passes to the speedy backs to out pace Rutland. Stout defense also limited Rutland to only two serious scoring threats, both of which were turned away by Saratoga's swarming "Guard Dog" defense.
Saratoga's offense was clicking once again and was run masterfully by senior scrum-half Emily Wexler (Burnt Hills). Through Wexler's distribution of the ball and own ball running ability, Saratoga was able to pound inside runs by forwards Jess Sears (Burnt Hills), Jenny von Rosen (Burnt Hills), Tiffany Neach (Burnt Hills), and Shelby Snyder Scotia-Glenville), forcing Rutland to commit extra bodies to rucks and mauls. From there, Saratoga used its quick line to get to the edges of the pitch, with looping runs by Wexler, countering penetrating running by speedsters Carly Baker (Averil Park), Leah Gerlach (Burnt Hills), Autumn Vanderveer (Burnt Hills), and Sam Coluccio (Burnt Hills). Fly-half Joann Pettis (Burnt Hills) also frustrated Rutland by creating overloads from taking on two or even three defenders at a time before dishing the ball out to her line mates.
Saratoga also took a large step forward with its defense. One of the more difficult aspects of the growing club has been mastering the offense instituted during the middle of last season by pack coach Aaron Noble. Littered with heavy hitters, the Mustangs have been able to use its sure tackling and aggressiveness to shut down most offenses before they could get started, resulting in six shutout victories on the season. Better teams, such as Essex and Adirondack, however, were able to find holes and score points on the young club. One of the team's focuses during the week was solidifying its defense, and behind flankers Shannon Dowdle (Burnt Hills) and Jordan Scacchetti (Burnt Hills), and eight man, Eva Meier (Ballston Spa), Rutland found itself running sideways on most plays, unable to get much of anything going. On the occasional breakthrough, rookie phenom Joya Clark (Scotia-Glenville) was able to crush potential breakaways with her notoriously brutal tackles from fullback. It was the first time the defense played evenly team wide and the result was staggering.
Saratoga's Super A's improved to 7-1 on the season and will face rival Adirondack in the Vermont State Championship in Colchester, VT. In only its second year of existence and first year in the Vermont Youth Rugby Association, Saratoga has the opportunity to bring home its first state title.
Saratoga also took a large step forward with its defense. One of the more difficult aspects of the growing club has been mastering the offense instituted during the middle of last season by pack coach Aaron Noble. Littered with heavy hitters, the Mustangs have been able to use its sure tackling and aggressiveness to shut down most offenses before they could get started, resulting in six shutout victories on the season. Better teams, such as Essex and Adirondack, however, were able to find holes and score points on the young club. One of the team's focuses during the week was solidifying its defense, and behind flankers Shannon Dowdle (Burnt Hills) and Jordan Scacchetti (Burnt Hills), and eight man, Eva Meier (Ballston Spa), Rutland found itself running sideways on most plays, unable to get much of anything going. On the occasional breakthrough, rookie phenom Joya Clark (Scotia-Glenville) was able to crush potential breakaways with her notoriously brutal tackles from fullback. It was the first time the defense played evenly team wide and the result was staggering.
Saratoga's Super A's improved to 7-1 on the season and will face rival Adirondack in the Vermont State Championship in Colchester, VT. In only its second year of existence and first year in the Vermont Youth Rugby Association, Saratoga has the opportunity to bring home its first state title.
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