FREDONIA, NY — The Alfred University women's rugby team took home a gutsy 15-5 win on Sunday afternoon to open its XVs season.
"We put in a lot of defensive work for this win," Head Coach Dr. Nicole Bernsen said. "I'm proud of how hard everyone played today and excited for folks who got to play in their first game of rugby today. We look forward to our first home match at Saxon Hill Friday!"
AU opened the scoring by holding most of the possession, eventually being pushed over the try line by Jordayn Williams (Palmdale, CA/Quartz Hill). Ava Webber (Cobleskill, NY/Cobleskill-Richmondville) would extend the advantage with another try later in the half.
Fredonia would respond near the end of the half, setting up a close and tense second half. Both teams would battle in 15 scrums to try and win possession for their side.
The Saxons would score the lone try of the second half thanks to some evasive running by Zia Oellig (Colorado Springs, CO/Fountain Valley School of Colorado). She also got help defensively from Williams, Webber, and Meridian Bremel (Reading, VT/Woodstock Union) who recorded a team-high 24 tackles in her collegiate debut to close out the road win.
"I think that as a newer team, we had a lot of great success today, especially with our new players," Ellie Prestridge (Bethel, VT/White River Valley) said. "I'm excited to see how much we'll grow from this point forward."
Alfred University will next host SUNY Geneseo on Friday night at 8:00 p.m. to open their new facility atop Saxon Hill.
-- Swords Forward Saxons --
