Boxscore (PDF)
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- The Eastern Illinois women's rugby squad upped their program-best winning streak to 21 games, as the Panthers rolled over Minnesota, 49-0, on Saturday afternoon in Minneapolis/St. Paul. The win moves EIU to 5-0 on the season.
Although the entire game was played in cold and wet conditions, senior Crystal Jones ran-in three trys, leading all Panthers. Newcomer Lauren Doyle added two five-point trys and dished out two assists, while sophomores Ashley Aardsma, Jazmine Moore and Narissa Ramirez each scored a try apiece.
“Considering the playing conditions today, I think it was a good win,” said EIU head coach Frank Graziano. “It can be difficult to play a whole game in a steady rain and only 45-degrees.”
Eastern had a commanding 34-0 halftime lead and continued to pour on the offense in the second half, as the Panthers defeated the Golden Golphers in only the two squads all-time meetings. EIU previously blanked Minnesota at home, 77-0, back in 2006.
Junior Coartney McKinney went 3-8 for two-point conversion kicks, while nailing her lone penalty kick on the day. Senior Stephanie Militello and sophomore Mandie Hurd each earned an assist in the win.
The Panthers return home to play the first of three consecutive games at the friendly confines of Lakeside Rugby Field. The EIU Panthers will host the Purple Panthers of Northern Iowa next Saturday, with kickoff set for 1 pm. This game will mark the 100th game coached by head coach Graziano in his tenure as skipper of the Eastern program.
More Thoughts from Coach Graziano:
"Excellent win for us coming off a disappointing performance vs Milwaukee and considering the weather conditions in Minnesota (45 degrees and rain), making the ball and turf wet and slippery.
Ashley Jenkins was superb in midfield defense and cleaning up many of the loose balls due to poor handling conditions. She continued to pressure the opposition into passing errors and her excellent tackling created turnovers for her team to take advantage of. On offense she was able to utilize her kicking abilities to create difficult defending situations for the Minnesota wings and fullback. Ashley and freshman Lauren Doyle (two trys, two assists, four tackles) have become an excellent center combination half-way through our season.
Nice to see Jazmine Moore record her first try of the season.
Another solid effort from Crystal Jones with three scores and six tackles. Crystal has been at the top of her game since the start of the season. Her tough scrappy play demonstrates to her teammates that you do not have to be very big to be successful at this game. Her kick coverage and decision making have been much improved since last season and has been a big plus to our game plan.
Narissa Ramirez had her best game of the season and was the driving force behind our offense against Minnesota. Her attacking pressure around the rucks and ability to kick the ball into space was difficult for the Gophers to defend.
Our scrum was better against Minnesota than UW-Milwaukee and the forwards will use this effort against the Gophers to improve further to face Northern Iowa, who will be the best team we will face all season. The UNI forwards are formidable and in fact we do not match up very well against them so we will have our work cut out for us this week in practice."
… for more info, contact Bart Rettberg, Asst. SID
