ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University women's rugby team hosted its first home match since becoming a varsity program on Saturday, falling to Nazareth University, 41-7 from Yunevich Stadium.
 
The Saxons (1-4, 1-1 UNYCRC) scored once in the first half. "We were excited to (re)introduce rugby to the AU community with our home-opener today," Head Coach Dr. Nicole Bernsen said. "Beautiful weather and great opponents allowed us to continue to develop our skills on the pitch today. We had some good runs and positive tackles. With our bye week ahead, we're looking forward to putting in the work before head out on the road again."
 
Monica Lewis (Buffalo, NY/Health Sciences Charter School) pushed through a line of Golden Flyer players to inch across the line for the Saxons' first try at Yunevich Stadium. April Pratt (Savona, NY/Campbell-Savona) drilled the conversion kick to make the score 15-7 in favor of the visitors.
 
Nazareth's offensive push that followed would end the scoring at 41-7.
 
The Saxons won both lineout opportunities, kept their penalties to a game low while dealing with the multiple penalties from Naz. Both teams were nearly even on scrums.
 
Coach Bernsen and her staff named Lewis the Rookie of the Match and Becca Amdur-Kass (Potomac, MD/Bethesda Chevy Chase) the Player of the Match.
 
The Saxons will next travel to Buffalo State College for another Upstate New York Collegiate Rugby Conference (UNYCRC) match on Sunday, October 6 at 12:00pm.