By Maren Johnson
Staff Writer
Everyone on campus knows the Purple Haze name, many have been to at least one Haze game,
and some have gotten to experience the exciting international culture that surrounds rugby. What fewer
people may know is that there is a women’s team here on the Mountain too, called Lady Ruckus.
Saturday, September 12, Lady Ruckus traveled to Bowling Green, Kentucky to play Western Kentucky
University.
The teams played a 15-minute first half, and a 20-minute second half, with only 10 players on
the field at a time, since neither team had enough people to put the standard fifteen players on the
field. Although this was the first match ever for Rachel Hudson (C’19) and Kelsie Schiavone (C’19), it was
clear from the beginning that the two weeks of training since the start of school had paid off. Soon after
the start of the match, Katie Weigel (C’18) scored a try (rugby’s version of a touchdown, worth five
points) and mere minutes later Kelsie Schiavone (C’19) scored. During the rest of the match, Jade
Kendrick (C’18) scored, and then Schiavone scored another. This time, Helen Pfaff (C’18) kicked for a
point conversion (worth 2 points), landing the score at 22-0 before half time. For Jessah Lowry (C’17),
there was some nervousness was some nervousness about the remainder of the game because, “We
lost against WKU when we played against them at the end of last semester,” during the last half.
After a halftime break where the ladies encouraged one another, and made note that the field
was now slanted uphill which was to the Lady Ruckus’s disadvantage, the team went back onto the field
ready to finish the game strong. After a few minutes of play on Lady Ruckus’s side of the field, Kendrick
broke free and tore down the field for the fifth try. Soon afterwards, Lowry scored in her first try of the
season. Finally, just before the end of the match, Schiavone scored her third try,to the excited shouts of
everyone on the team. With Pfaff scoring all of the possible point conversions, and the seven tries, Lady
Ruckus had shut out Western Kentucky University 43-0.
After finishing the ritual “Hip-hip-hoorays” for Lady Ruckus, both teams left the field and took
photos together. One of the best things about rugby is that at the end of the day, the camaraderie of the
sport takes over, and both teams can come together to celebrate. There is no doubt that, as Weigel said,
“The game was amazing, and it was an awesome start to the season.”