Game Stats (PDF)
CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Sophomore
Lauren Doyle and freshman
Cara Hahne each sprinted for three trys as the Eastern Illinois women's rugby squad picked up a 59-0 win over Notre Dame in the Panthers' home opener on Sunday afternoon.
On a beautiful day in front of a large crowd of 422, the Panthers ended up winning the 100th game in EIU women's rugby history, as the program began back in 1998. The victory also extends the Eastern historic winning streak to 29 straight games.
Doyle earned the first score nearly ten minutes into the first half as neither squad was able to get much offensive movement. Doyle would add her second try at the 35th minute as the Panthers took a 31-0 lead into halftime. She would add the final score as well, scampering in on a nice run to help Eastern earn the win over the Irish as the two squads met for the first time ever.
Hahn earned a five-pointer in the first half and followed two in the second frame.
Senior
Coartney McKinney had a nice day on conversions as she went 7-of-9 in the two-point kicks.
Newcomer
Kayla Heal, who led all players with three runs-over-20-yards, and junior
Narissa Ramirez accounted for two and one try as well, respectively.
Doyle had a nice day in the assist department as well, dishing out four throws that led to scores, with freshman
SHelby Musselman adding three assists as well.
Defensively, sophomore Stephanie Mahan stopped 10 Irish runners on her own, while adding four assisted stops. Freshman
Molly Romine notched six solo and three assisted tackles as well.
Other unofficial stat numbers show that EIU led with 47 team tackles while the Fighting Irish had 20. Notre Dame earned seven scrum advantages as compared to five for EIU. But the Panthers led 14-to-11 in total line-outs won.
The Panthers hit the road once again, facing Grand Valley State on Sep. 18, followed by a key matchup at Northern Iowa on the 25th. The next home game for EIU will be on Oct. 3 when they host Minnesota at 11 am.
... for more info, contact Bart Rettberg, Asst. SID
