“Call the ball, catch it sideways!” shouted out the players as they got ready to receive the ball on kickoff. Within the first three minutes, captain and eight-man Ellie Humphreys broke through three defenders and ran the ball into the try zone for the first try of the game. The team showed improvement in their defensive line, making sure to launch up on the ball together like they learned how to do in practice. Captain and scrum-half Sarah Traenkle had a breakaway down the sideline, managing to place the ball after getting tackled in the try zone, scoring the second try of the game. Four minutes later senior and the team’s newly appointed outside center, Lita Wright, roll dodged their way through multiple defenders, scoring the third try of the day. Not even two minutes later, Sarah Traenkle found themselves on another breakaway, sprinting into the try zone. The time Colgate spent on lineouts during practice last week paid off as the rookies worked with the upperclassmen to secure the ball on both defensive and offensive lineouts. With Lita and Ellie driving into the try zone for the last two trys of the first half, the ruggers jogged off the field with the score 36-0 on the scoreboard.

While Buffalo picked up their speed of play in the second half, Colgate did not back down. Rookie and freshman Nephileen Kattel weaved her way through a sea of defenders and sprinted into the try zone for her first try of the game. Colgate dedicated a lot of time to working on scrums last week which served them well because they had their fair share of them in the game. Although they will continue to work on consistency in positioning within the scrum, there was a noticeable improvement from last weekend. While Buffalo managed to get a try on the scoreboard, senior Kiara Hill bodied her way into the try zone to score Colgate’s eighth try of the game. The fans continued cheering throughout the whole day, giving Colgate the motivation they needed to fight hard in the last scrum of the game where Lita Wright came out with the ball and dove into the try zone for their third try of the day, and last try of the game. With conversions from captain Kristen Mast and sophomore Hannah Meyerowitz, Colgate walked away with yet another win, ending the game 57-5.

The ruggers are looking forward to the week ahead where they will be preparing for their long-awaited game against Notre Dame College on Sunday. They will continue to focus their practices on defensive positioning as well as scrums and lineouts. The team thanks not only the University at Buffalo for coming out this weekend but also all the Alumni that came to show their support for the program and overall game of rugby.