Women's Rugby | 10/2/2016 3:11:00 PM

SPRINGFIELD, Mass.- The Central Washington University women's rugby team concluded its successful weekend on the east coast with a 57-29 victory over American International College.
 
Coming off an impressive 85-18 win yesterday against Norwich University, the Wildcats earned its second varsity match win for the weekend.
 
"AIC play a very physical brand of rugby, which we were expecting," CWU head coach Mel Denham said. "Breakdowns were highly contested, and we did well to adjust and maintain possession of ball in contact. We also dominated the scrums, which is something we have been working on all season. Defensively we pressured the ball and came away with multiple turnovers."
 
Freshman standout Suiluana A'au jump-started the Wildcat attack in the first half, scoring the first three tries of the game for CWU. A'au has tallied 11 tries over the span of three games for the Wildcats.
 
Central opened a 20-14 lead in the 37th minute of the match when Asinate Serevi punched in her first try of the weekend.
 
Michel Navarro rounded out the Wildcat's scoring in the first half with a try in the 39th minute and a successful conversion by Cassidy Meyers extended CWU's lead to 27-14.
 
Jennifer Johnson kept the momentum rolling in the Wildcat's favor in the second half, touching down in the try zone in the third minute of the half.
 
Navarro added another try in the 55th minute to inflate the lead to 37-14.
 
The Yellow Jackets would respond with a try of their own in the 60th minute to close the scoring margin to 37-19.
 
Kathlena Truong tallied the next two tries for the Wildcats in the 67th and 74th minutes.
 
Carrie Vaillancourt concluded the second half scoring barrage with her lone try of the match to solidify CWU's 57-29 victory.
 
Yana Manoa led the line on defense, dominating every point of contact. Leah Ingold's leadership and vision at the tenth position helped CWU find and attack space.
 
Scoring Breakdown
 
Tries
Suiluana A'au- 3
Michel Navarro- 3
Kathlena Truong- 2
Jennifer Johnson- 1
Asinate Serevi- 1
Carrie Vaillancourt- 1
 
Conversions
Cassidy Meyers- 1