National Championships: Stanford 12 Penn St 32
Having come out of the Final Four with a decisive victory against Brown University, the Stanford Cardinal was looking forward to the match up against long time rivals Penn State. Both teams had strong support from their fans, with family and friends coming down to Steuber Stadium to show their support. Stanford went into the Championships knowing that it was going to be a tough game. Both teams started off very physically and no tries were conceded early in the game. It was only in the 24th minute that outside center Bisi Ibrahim broke through the Penn defense and scored a try for Stanford. Penn state was able to level the scores at 5-all with a try of their own, but Stanford pulled forward with flyhalf Jamie Lawrence putting 5 points on the scoreboard. Kicker Aly Gleason made 1 conversion and by the end of the first half, Stanford led 12-10.
In the second half, Stanford hoped to capitalize on its lead and push ahead. However, the dogged defense of Penn State curbed the Stanford offensive and allowed them to score three more tries instead. With Penn State converting one of their 6 tries, the score was 12-32 at the final whistle. Stanford finished second in this year’s D1 National Championships. Although it was not the ideal end to the season, the journey that Stanford Women’s Rugby has taken as a team has been an irreplaceable one and the experience and growth that has been gained is something that cannot be taken away.
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After the match, SWR alumni joined the team on the field to lead a final team song.
Photo Courtesy of Stanford Athletics
