Match Report – SWR vs. Humboldt State

use for post humboldt

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.