Dartmouth sophomore wing Katelyn Walker’s 70-meter dash to the try zone early on symbolized the Big Green’s domination of Quinnipiac rugby Saturday afternoon for the Bobcats’ second loss of the season 47-10.
Quinnipiac could never get anything going during the match, with turnover after turnover ruining many of its offensive chances early on. Defensively, Quinnipiac were often missing tackles in crucial spots. It took the Bobcats until almost the end of the game to put points on the board, but it was not enough.
The match opened up with a score by Dartmouth senior lock Nicole Ihensekhien within five minutes, and from there it was all Big Green. Walker ran 70 meters to the try zone 10 minutes later, which alongside tries junior hooker Asialeata Meni and freshman center Hehea Pulotu, pushed the game to 33-0 by the half.
A viewer could look away after a Dartmouth score, look back at the screen and Quinnipiac’s defense was already giving up another try – whether through a turnover by losing the ball during a scrum or by getting stuffed just short of the try zone by Dartmouth. It seemed like the two teams were playing entirely different games during the first half and more of the same would come during the second half.
That second half was almost mercifully slow for Dartmouth’s offense, marked by turnovers and failed attempts to score through offside penalties and scrums that got blown up. However, the Big Green still scored twice, once by Walker to open the half and once by junior lock Jordan Duncan following Quinnipiac senior prop Hannah Pfersch’s drop kick.
Quinnipiac had multiple chances to capitalize and eat into the Big Green’s lead, especially close to the try zone. The results were similar to the first half. There were more turnovers and more stoppages close to the try zone. This time the Bobcats got called for a couple offside penalties, conveniently just as they looked like they were getting a promising drive going.
It seemed like Dartmouth stepped off the gas during the final 20 minutes of the game, allowing the Bobcats to finally score their first points in the 70th minute with a drop kick by Pfersch. Graduate forward Gracie Cartwright found the try zone at the end of the game, but by then Quinnipiac’s loss was all, but finalized on paper.
The match was a chance for the Bobcats to end their five-game losing streak against the Big Green. Instead, they let it fall to six games. Their last win against Dartmouth came in the 2017 National Championship by a score of 29-20.
The last four losses to Dartmouth came with Quinnipiac scoring more than 10 points just once, coming in a 47-14 defeat during the NIRA semifinals last year. The Bobcats have given up an average of 46 points during their six-game losing streak to Big Green.
The Bobcats will look to forget this loss and fix their sloppy play when they take on undefeated Sacred Heart in Hamden on Sept. 30 at 1 p.m.
