ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Oct. 6) – The Central Washington University (0-1) women's rugby team dropped its season opener, 60-0, to No. 1 Lindenwood University (4-1).
"The first half was a lot better, that was the rugby I was proud of," CWU Head Women's Rugby Coach
Trevor Richards said afterward. "We left a few opportunities out there on offense, but we controlled the first half decently well. In the second half we switched off and we weren't launching on defense or finishing our tackles. The good news is the issues we had today are fixable and we will get some key pieces of our lineup back. Proud of the team's effort today and we will continue to learn and grow."
The Lions wasted no time finding the try line, capitalizing early with a try from Mika Paogofie-Buyten. McKenzie Hawkins added the conversion for a 7-0 lead.
Lindenwood added a penalty goal in the 18
th minute, advancing their lead to 10-0.
They added a try in the 23
rd minute from Joyce Taufa, her first of four in the fixture, to extend their lead again. At the half, the Lions held a 17-0 lead.
Lindenwood found space to play in the second half, scoring in the 45
th and 50
th minutes out of the halftime break. The Lions pushed their advantage to 36-0 with a try from Taufa in the 60
th minute, before she scored again only moments later.
In total, the Lions scored seven tries in the second half.
The Wildcats are back in action on Saturday (Oct. 13) for a match-up against Washington State University. Kick-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.
LINDENWOOD TRIES
Paogofie-Buyten
Taufa (4)
Tafito
Healy
Laughlin
Arena
LINDENWOOD CONVERSIONS
Hawkins (4)
Gray (1)
