WEST CHESTER, Pa. - West Chester University rugby made history, defeating White Horse 54-26 to finish its first undefeated regular season in the program's history that dates back to 2005.
Â
The Golden Rams recognized their eight graduating seniors as part of their Senior Day festivities. They are
Aly Mento (Pottstown, Pa. / Owen J. Roberts),
Jeana Barr (West Chester, Pa. / West Chester East),
Harley Divine (Alexandria, Va. / West Potomac),
Monique Jervier (Jim Thorpe, Pa. / Jim Thorpe),
Sophie Monboussin (Jim Thorpe, Pa. / Jim Thorpe),
Katie Moritz (Columbia, N. J. / North Warren),
Haley Spangler (Gettysburg, Pa. / Gettysburg), and
Juah Toe (York, Pa. / Central York).
Â
How it happened:
- Senior co-captain Juah Toe kicked things off, scoring a try in the second minute to give West Chester an early lead. | WCU 5-0
- White Horse tied the match with a try in the 14th minute. | WCU 5-5
- West Chester would score three tries in the span of seven minutes to take a 20-5 lead. Senior co-captain Harley Divine, sophomore Lauren Madalian (Randolph, N. J. / Randolph High School) and freshman Heather Spangler (Gettysburg, Pa. / Gettysburg) scored the tries. | WCU 20-5
- White Horse scored two tries with two successful conversions in the last ten minutes of the half to cut West Chester's lead down to one. WCU 20-19
- The Golden Rams took over in the second half, going on a 34-point streak lasting 37 minutes. Seniors Katie Moritz, Sophie Monboussin and Juah Toe scored tries. Sophomores Autumn Czaplicki (Pillow, Pa / Line Mountain High School), Lauren Madalian (Randolph, N.J. / Randolph High School) and Tina Kimmich (Downingtown, Pa / Downingtown West High School) did as well. Two successful conversions were made to cap out scoring by Kylie Corless (Wrightstown, Pa / Archbishop Wood High School) and Corinne Gallagher (Coatesville, Pa. / Coatesville). | WCU 54-19
- White Horse scored a try and conversion in the final minute, to make the final score 54-26.
Inside the numbers:
- The senior class combined to score five tries on the day, scoring a total of 25 points.
- Czaplicki's try was her team-leading 11th on the season.
- Corless converted her team-leading 20th conversion on the season.
- The Golden Rams have now outscored their opponents 311-102 this season.
- West Chester's regular season record stands at 9-0, the first undefeated record in in program history.
Outside the box:
- Prior to the start of today's match, the Golden Rams honored young Dean Palo, member of the "One Team Goal" program to raise money for children at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. At 27 weeks, Dean was diagnosed with Spina Bifid. And after a 35-day NICU stay, eight surgeries and intensive physical therapy, all provided by CHOP, Dean is now excelling and doing all of the things the books said he would not do. He has been attending games, practices and events with the team.
Up next:
The Golden Rams compete in the first round of the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association Tier II playoffs next Saturday at 1 p.m. as they host Mount St. Mary's. The two teams met earlier this season when the Golden Rams won a hard-fought battle in the rain 15-14 at the Mounties. The winner will move on to compete in the championship round at Harvard University on Sunday, Nov. 16.
