Story Courtesy of Rachel Crist, Rugby Contributor

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - In an action-packed contest at home, Davenport University women's rugby narrowly lost to American International College (AIC) with a final score of 40-31. The Panthers displayed resilience throughout the match, but AIC's ability to capitalize on DU's mistakes ultimately sealed the win for the Yellow Jackets.

The Senior Day game began with a strong start for DU, as Marla Aymond scored the opening try just three minutes in, giving the Panthers a 5-0 lead. Aubrey Crist extended the advantage to 7-0 with a successful conversion. However, AIC quickly answered back, scoring a try and a conversion within the next ten minutes to tie the game at 7-7. The visitors added another try that came right after a penalty by DU, putting the Panthers behind 14-7. Davenport rallied with a try from Rachel Wilkie, followed by Crist's conversion to tie it at 14-14 - Wilkie providing a defensively strong game with 12 tackles, three forced turnovers, and securing 13 rucks. Another Panther penalty allowed AIC to score again. With that regained momentum, AIC quickly added another try, going into the break with a 26-14 lead.

The second half saw AIC extend their lead to 33-14 with a try and conversion early on that came off mistakes the Panthers made during a lineout. Davenport's fightback began when Aymond scored her second try of the game off a great pass from CeCe Stowers at the 63-minute mark, with Crist once again adding the conversion to bring the score to 33-21. 

Crist's accurate boot added a penalty kick at 70:15, closing the gap further to 33-24. Carrie Coyer-Westerberg's late try, followed by another Crist conversion, brought the Panthers within two points at 31-33, setting up a thrilling finish that would go on to be thwarted by the referee in a series of events that left both teams, coaches, and fans confused in the final minutes of the match. AIC committed a penalty, and the ref held the advantage for Davenport and let the play continue since they had possession and were still moving the ball through more phases. Coyer-Westerberg recovered a loose ball off the ground and made a breakaway run, as she reached the try zone and dotted the ball down, the ref called the ball back 65 meters to the spot of the original penalty. Crist quickly went to question the call on why advantage wasn't continued and never got a clear response within the laws of the sport. As Crist is about to kick for touch, the referee then decides to confer with the assistant referee on the far touchline about a possible knock-on by DU, he then returns to the spot of the penalty and awards the ball to AIC, without explanation, even though their team committed the infraction.  The Panthers were able to hold up a try but AIC would go on to seal the win with a late try and conversion in the dying minutes, pushing the final score to 40-31.

Despite the loss, Davenport showed great determination, with standout performances from Aymond, Wilkie, and Crist, who contributed significantly on the scoreboard. The Panthers will look to build on this performance and bounce back as they enter the playoffs with more postseason information.

Match Points
Aubrey Crist, 11 points
Marla Aymond, 10 points
Rachel Wilkie, 5 points
Carrie Coyer-Westerberg, 5 points

Seniors Day Honorees
Aubrey Crist
Olivia Farkas
Grace Gohl
Olivia Male
Anise Tuia