Stanford 48 Humboldt State 17
Tries – S. Eagan (‘22), A. Park (‘20), L. Mendoza (‘22) x3, J. Hayward (‘19) x2, I. Anderson (‘21)
Conversions – A. Tallman (‘20) x 4

Stanford took the long drive to Arcata to take on Humboldt State this past weekend, looking to bounce back from last weeks defeat to Chico State. The Cardinal came a way with a vital victory in league play, looking to this Saturday’s game against Cal with a 1­1 record.
The game started well for Stanford: After soaking up some pressure from the big Humboldt pack, Junior Izabel Jo managed to steal the ball at a breakdown near Stanford’s try line and make a 40 meter run back the other way. Freshman Sally Eagan was on hand to scoop the ball up from the ensuing tackle and go in for her first try.
Humboldt came straight back and after repeated bruising runs by their big forwards they were able to punch in a try and convert to take a lead 7­5 this was closely followed by a second try for Humboldt and a 12­5 lead. This seemed to wake up Stanford who controlled possession for most of the first half, but unforced errors consistently undid all their hard work. With 5 minutes left in the half Junior Anna Park picked from the base of a scrum and barreled over from short range, Junior Avery Tallman converted to end a competitive first half at 12­12.
The second half got underway with Stanford energised by the late try in the first half. Stanford were able to control possession for long periods of tim, reducing their unforced errors, and opened up the game through some intelligent kicking. Early in the half, Freshman Leilani Mendoza, former USA rugby high school All­American, scored the first of her 3 tries (her first collegiate hat trick!) after some strong pick and goes by the forwards. Stanford maintained the pressure throughout the second half scoring 4 more unanswered tries: 2 more for Mendoza and one each for Senior Jett Hayward and Sophomore Isis Anderson. Tallman added 3 more conversions for a final score of 48­17.
Once again a number of players got to pull on the Cardinal jersey in meaningful competition for the first time, and these players continue to gain valuable experience.

Stanford 31 UC Davis 14
Tries – K. Herson (2)
O. Bernadel Huey
A. Tallman
L. Ferguson
Conversions – O. Bernadel-Huey (3)

 
Stanford Women’s Rugby hosted two-time defending USA Rugby Spring Champions UC Davis under the Friday night lights. UC Davis jumped out to 14-0 with two converted tries in the first 15 minutes. However, SWR refused to roll over and replied with a try to winger Kara Herson ’21 in the 23rd minute. The Cardinal continued to build the pressure as they spent the rest of the half camped in the UC Davis 22m. The pressure paid off with points as flyhalf Olivia Bernadel-Huey ’18 collected her own kick to score under the posts. The successful conversion locked the scores up at 14-14. The teams headed into halftime with the game finely balanced.

 
In the second half, SWR looked to retain the momentum and used a varied attack to put pressure on UC Davis. A strong kicking game from Bernadel-Huey, impressive ball retention and the ability to attack the width of the park kept UC Davis on the backfoot. When UC Davis had possession, SWR showed relentless defense and strong tackling to stall the Aggies go forward. In the end, the Cardinal attack led to 3 more tries in the second half from Herson, Avery Tallman 20′ and Lia Ferguson ’18. Bernadel-Huey slotted two more conversions, and SWR ran out winners 31-14. While there were many noteworthy performers, special mention goes to the back row of Anna Park ’20, Kathryn Treder ’18 and Ferguson. Their high work rate on attack and defense set the tone for the team performance.

 
Stanford 48 Humboldt 41
Tries – O. Bernadel-Huey (2)
I. Anderson
T. Balabanis
L. Ferguson (2)
A.Park
H. O’Brien
Conversions – O. Bernadel-Huey (4)

Only 12 hours after the final whistle against UC Davis, Stanford Women’s Rugby were back at Steuber Stadium warming up to face a big and physical Humboldt State. Humboldt State jumped out to a quick start, scoring four tries for a 26-0 lead after just 20 minutes. The game paused due to an unfortunate injury to Cardinal wing, Nicole Almanzar ’18. The delay gave SWR a chance to refocus. The Cardinal came back scoring three quick tries before the break through Olivia Bernadel-Huey ’18 (2) and Isis Anderson ’21. At halftime, the score was 26-19.

 
The second half began with an energized Humboldt State building their lead. SWR stayed composed by working the connections and processes they have been practicing since the start of the season. Through teamwork and patience, the Cardinal were able to wrest the momentum. SWR built pressure with a good kicking game, strong ball carries and long periods of possession into a 48-31 lead. The points came on tries from Tatiana Balabanis ’19, Lia Ferguson ’18 (2), Anna Park ’20, Haley O’Brien ’20. However, Humboldt State launched a furious last 10 minutes, punching in two more tries. In the end, SWR squeaked out the win in a very exciting and physical game.
(Photo credit: Hector Garcia-Molina)

Stanford 51 Cal 17
Tries – O. Bernadel-Huey X3
K. Herson
J. Hayward
L. Ferguson
A. Seth X2
Conversions – Olivia Bernadel-Huey X3

 
Stanford Women’s Rugby bounced back from last week’s defeat to Chico State with an emphatic victory over long time rival Cal.

 
Stanford came out firing right from the kick off with a break away from second row Haley O’Brien ’20 which saw her held up over the line. The ensuing scrum led to Olivia Bernadel-Huey’s ’18 1st of her 3 tries for the day. It was one way traffic for the rest of the first half with further tries from Ash Seth ’19 , Lia Ferguson ’18 and Kara Herson ’21. Halftime score 41-0 Stanford.

 
The second half saw Cal come out with greater intensity as they maintained possesion and put Stanford under increased pressure. Cal got the 1st try of the second half, but Stanford immediately replied with a try from Jett Hayward ’19. The second half continued to be more back and forth with Cal adding 2 more tries and Lia Ferguson ’18 adding one more for Stanford. This was a much improved performance both on Attack and Defense and saw further improvement from our new players who continue to grow every time they step on the field.

 
Next weekend Stanford hosts a double header at Steuber Rugby Stadium! UC Davis comes on Friday evening at 7:00PM, and Saturday sees us face of against Humboldt at 11:00AM.
(Photo credit: Hector Garcia-Molina)