Women's Rugby | 9/26/2022 9:15:00 AM

ADRIAN, Mich. - Davenport played against Adrian College for their first match of the 15's season on September 25th. The final score against the Bulldogs was 72-5 resulting in Davenport's first win of the season. The Panthers came into the game wanting to practice their offensive strategies, while teaching the new players on the team their style of play in a real-time game, and they did just that. In the first 30 seconds of the match, Olivia Farkas, one of the team's newest captains, scored a try. As time went on, confidence in the players rose, and gave them opportunities to focus on their newest plays, in hopes of being able to perfect them later in their season.

The Bulldogs brought intensity and defensive pressure throughout the whole game, especially after their kickoffs, but they couldn't stand a chance against the Panthers offensive line. With forward plays pushing defense backwards, and back plays beating them with speed on the sidelines, there was no even match. By halftime, the score was 51-0, and multiple players were subbed onto the field. Despite individuals playing in newer or different positions, Davenport still kept their way of play going, and the points continued to add up. Two players on the pitch to highlight this weekend were one of the newest wings, Nicole Carvalho, who had extraordinary speed on the outside, and Kyla Rimple and her ability to advance the ball through poaching and strong breaks. Davenport knows that there is still work to be done, but a win in their first game is only the beginning.

Captains Corner with Aubrey Crist:

How did you feel about the game vs. Adrian today?

"I think our game went really well, we kept to our basics and wore down the opposition. Letting us have the opportunity to run around them or through them. There are definitely things we need to work on for our upcoming games, but it's only the first game. Our structure is bound to become more organized, which will allow us to do even better as our season progresses".

Scoring Breakdown for Davenport v. Adrian
Abbi Kowalczk - 3 tries (15 points)
Ashley Cowdrey - 2 tries (10 points)
Olivia Farkas - 1 try (5 points)
Valencia Goldsmith - 1 try (5 points)
Jasmine Hernandez - 1 try (5 points)
Mariah Pruitt - 1 try (5 points)
Abby Jaramillo - 1 try (5 points)
Allie Provance - 1 try (5 points)
Aubrey Crist - 1 try and 2 conversions (9 points)
Ashleigh Dewitt - 4 conversions (8 points)

Next week our Davenport Women's Rugby team takes on American International College on Saturday, October 1st in Rochester, New York. Kickoff will be at 12:00 PM.

Story by: Taylor Badal