HANOVER, New Hampshire - The American International College women's rugby team overcame a 10-0 deficit to win the 2024 National Intercollegiate Rugby Association Division II National Championship 20-15 over Davenport University on Saturday, November 23.
AIC completes the 2024 season at 7-2 with a perfect 6-0 record against NIRA Division II opposition between the regular season and playoffs.
The Panthers hit AIC early for two tries, working around the edge and using the tremendous speed and skill in their back line to jump out to a 10-0 lead just 8:57 in.
The Yellow Jackets countered, and just over five minutes later, scored their first try. Jendell Moe was the finisher off a restart after an offside as AIC used the strength of their front line to push Davenport back and eventually down.
In the 26th minute, AIC tied it. This time, it was Haley Thompson who put the ball down, diving through the defense to level the match at 10-10.
Davenport rebounded and regained the lead at 36:21, and though AIC came close to answering, a potential try was held up right at the end of the half, sending the teams to their benches with a 15-10 Panthers advantage.
The Yellow Jackets regrouped at halftime, and quickly pressed into Panthers territory. After Moe slammed her way to within two meters of the try line, AIC came out of the breakdown with the ball in the hands of Venise Sanft, who offloaded to the right to Naomi Dodd. Dodd cut between two defenders and put the ball down at 47:31, tying the match once more.
The Panthers had opportunities, but AIC's defense put up a series of try-line stands to keep the game level, and as the clock melted away the score remained 15-15.
With under 10 minutes left in regulation, the Yellow Jackets found themselves again on the try line, but the Panthers stacked the middle to prevent AIC's forwards from breaking through. The Yellow Jackets had an answer, however, with Ivana Kiripati moving the ball left-to-right to Annekkia Ritter-Truxal, who fired a long pass further right to Ro'Elenoa Lagilagi. She in turn spotted Dodd charging up on her right and put the ball in Dodd's hands, and the sophomore did the rest, beating Davenport's outside backs to the line and putting AIC ahead for the first time in the match at 70:28.
It came down to the defense, and as Davenport pushed, AIC pushed back, defending effectively and limiting the Panthers from getting the ball out wide in open space. Even creative efforts like the kicking game were shut down, thanks to the speed and smarts of AIC's SaTya Miller and Morgan Schechter. Ultimately, the whistle blew with the score still 20-15, giving AIC the win and the national title.
Dodd, who was named MVP, said after the match "It feels good to be part of a team that is a sisterhood...we wanted to win it for our seniors." Of the final try, she noted "It was overload. We had the hands to make it out wide, we had the connection, we had the talk. We worked together to make it happen."
The title is AIC's second in four years; the team won its and the College's first team national title in 2021 with a 29-17 win over West Chester University. The senior class, along with graduate student Ritter-Truxal, become the first two-time team national title winners in the College's history with the win.
