WEST POINT, NY – West Chester got off to a quick start in the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) Tier II Championship Game Sunday at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. However, American International College scored four trys in the second half to erase a halftime deficit and down West Chester, 29-17.
West Chester (6-1) suffered its first loss of the season in the title game, ending a 17-match winning streak in fall competition dating back to the 2019 campaign. AIC avenged a loss to WCU earlier in the fall with the win.
Olyvia Eckard (East Petersburg, PA/Hempfield) scored a try and added the conversion in the first minute of the game to put the Golden Rams on top early 7-0. AIC's Jessica Bergen answered with the first of her two trys seven minutes later, and the conversion b Allyson Pothier knotted the score.
Autumn Czaplicki (Pillow, PA/Line Mountain) scored the first of two trys in the 22nd minute to give West Chester a 12-7 lead heading into the locker room at halftime.
American International came out of the break quickly, posting a pair of trys in the first four minutes to take a 19-12 lead that it would not relinquish.
Czaplicki added a try in the 46th minute, but the conversion was no good, and AIC maintained a 19-17 edge. The Yellow Jackets then tacked on trys in the 56th and 72nd minute to put the game away.
MIN TEAM EVENT PLAYER WCU-AIC
1' WCU TRY #4 - Eckard, Olyvia 5 - 0
2' WCU CONV #4 - Eckard, Olyvia 7 - 0
8' AIC TRY #5 - Berggren, Jessica 7 - 5
9' AIC CONV #10 - Pothier, Allyson 7 - 7
22' WCU TRY #13 - Czaplicki, Autumn 12 – 7
41' AIC TRY #15 - Oller-Guerrero, Suley 12 - 12
42' AIC CONV #10 - Pothier, Allyson 12 - 14
44' AIC TRY #13 - Kiripati, Ivana 12 - 19
46' WCU TRY #13 - Czaplicki, Autumn 17 - 19
56' AIC TRY #11 - Ritter-Truxal, Annekkia 17 - 24
72' AIC TRY #5 - Berggren, Jessica 17 - 29
