ELLENSBURG, Wash.- Samantha Pinson, one of nine seniors honored in a pre-game ceremony, tallied a season-high two tries in Central Washington University women's rugby's 55-0 victory over Brigham Young University at the Wildcat Rugby Pitch. The Wildcats improve to 4-3 on the season as they approach NIRA playoffs.
"Today was a great send off for our seniors," CWU interim head coach
Trevor Richards said. "The team put together one of the more complete performances this season against a physical BYU side. We certainly were not perfect but it was great to see improvements in several areas that we looked to address after our last match. I thought we looked a little more dynamic than last week and our defense was more organized. We definitely need to take better care of the ball at times, as it got a little loose. Overall, I'm pleased and I'll take a shut out any day."
The Wildcats tallied their first try of the match in the fourth minute of action, as senior prop
Kayla Postula offloaded to
Ashley Rolsma down the right side of the pitch. Rolsma zigged and zagged her way through the Cougar defense and touched down right in the center of the try zone. Senior
Emma Leonard capitalized on Rolsma's effort by converting the conversion. Leonard would register five conversions on the day for the Wildcats.
Pinson scored CWU's second try in the 24th minute. Sophomore
Suiluana A'au followed suit three minutes later as she caught a pass from
Leah Ingold and carried a pair of tacklers into try.
The Cougar defense started to bear down approaching halftime, holding off the CWU attack near their try line for several minutes. The Wildcats finally pierced BYU's defense in the 40th minute when
Yana Manoa bullied her way into try from five meters out. The teams entered halftime with the score 24-0 in favor of the Wildcats.
Leonard tallied her third conversion of the day after a try from A'au in the 44th minute.
In the 50th minute, Pinson plunged into a pair of Cougar tacklers near the try zone, but seemed to be stopped short. The Wildcats rallied behind their senior and gave her the push she needed to touched down for try, her second of the match.
Central Washington rattled off three more tries before the final whistle blew from
Hannah Lewandowski, Manoa and
Michel Navarro. The Wildcats would end the game with a final score of 55-0.
The Wildcats will have one more tune-up match before beginning the NIRA playoffs. CWU will face the Seattle Saracens on Saturday, Nov. 4 at 1 p.m. PST at the Wildcat Rugby Pitch.
"I want to thank our seniors for all that they have done for this program over the years and I also want to thank all of the families and friends who came out in support," Richards said. "It really created a great atmosphere on this beautiful autumn day."
Scoring Summary vs. Brigham Young University
04:00
Ashley Rolsma 5,
Emma Leonard 2
24:00
Samantha Pinson 5
27:00
Suiluana A'au 5
40:00
Yana Manoa,
Emma Leonard 2
Halftime Score: Central Washington 24, BYU 0
44:00
Suiluana A'au 5,
Emma Leonard 2
50:00
Samantha Pinson
64:00
Hannah Lewandowski 5
78:00
Yana Manoa 5,
Emma Leonard 2
80:00
Michel Navarro 5,
Emma Leonard 2
Final Score: Central Washington 55, BYU 0
-CWU-
