Boxscore (PDF) | Coach Graziano Notes

MILWAUKEE, Wisc. – Eastern Illinois women's rugby scored 36 unanswered points to scratch past the Panthers of WI-Milwaukee, 43-15, in Saturday road action.

Trailing 10-7 at the half, UWM earned an early score to start the second half and extend their lead over the EIU Panthers to 15-7.  But from that point on, the game belonged to Eastern, as the visiting Panthers ran off 36 points to remain perfect on the year at 5-0 and earn the squad's second straight road victory.

Sophomore Cara Hahne earned the first of her two scores on the day as she was the lone Panther point earner in the first half.

In the second frame, junior Kayla Heal poured on the offense with three consecutive trys in just eight minutes to pull EIU ahead at 31-15 midway through the half.

Newcomer Madison Kissner and junior Ashley Aardsma accounted for the two other Panther five-point scores, while junior Lauren Doyle went 4-for-7 in two-point conversions to notch eight points.

Defensively, senior Tina Crema led with nine solo stops and two steals-at-tackle, while junior Stefanie Mahan earned two assisted tackles to lead all players.  Mahan added seven solo tackles, while newcomer Carissa Burge had six tackles of her own.

Senior Narissa Ramirez tied Crema with two steals and was one of five different players to earn an assist in the come-from-behind win.

The Panthers will now prepare for a rematch with NCAA Division I newcomer Quinnipiac, as EIU will travel to face the Bobcats in Hamden, Connecticut next Saturday afternoon.  Eastern won the first of three meetings over QU back on Sept. 18.  The Panthers will host the Bobcats yet again on Nov. 6.

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COACH GRAZIANO NOTES FROM EIU/UWM GAME:

"We struggled to find any consistency in the first half... we did not handle the ball well... we missed tackles... we executed the plays incorrectly and were very uninspired. We had no passion or energy and we looked as though we wanted to get back on the bus and either start over or go home.

Halftime could not come fast enough to give me a chance to talk to the team. I adjusted nothing about our game plan.  I just spoke to them about their individual commitment to the team, their responsibility to each other and their university, and their fans (over 100) who came to watch them. Their individual performance was their responsibility. I spoke for five minutes of the 10 minute half time and left them in the corner of the field, with no one permitted to say anything to each other, but to just reflect on their season and what they wanted it to represent.

The only one who was playing in the first half was Narissa Ramirez and I was concerned she would not be able to finish the game if her teammates did not give her more support. Narissa is as tough as they come, but at 120 lbs., there are some physical limitations.

The second half started and I saw that absolutely nothing had changed. In fact, we gave up another score and we were suddenly now down, 5-15.

I called Narissa over and told her it was up to her to inspire her teammates. We have to fix it on the field.

As hard as she was playing, Narissa took her game to another level and her team began to slowly respond... she is our only captain for a reason.

We scored 36 unanswered points in 28 minutes.

Narissa made several key passes to Kayla Heal to put her in scoring position. Narissa certainly inspired several of the freshmen who started playing great -- Ellen Wilson, Carissa Burge and Nia Williams started to support Narissa's every move and suddenly found themselves making key plays at crucial times.

Stefanie Mahan joined in these attacks and had an excellent second half as well. Suddenly we all looked like we wanted to play and were enjoying the competition.

Tina Crema was solid in defense, as her tackling has greatly improved from spring workouts, and she became an important link to the attack.

It was disappointing to witness our performance in the first 50 minutes. However, off of Narissa's leadership, the team found a way to win.

I would like to think the team grew up some as they worked through this adversity. In the long run this may be very good for the team and bode well for the rest of the season."

... for more info, contact Bart Rettberg, Asst. SID