The Western women’s rugby team continued their perfect 6-0 season by winning 82-0 on Saturday against Seattle University.

The shutout marked a new season-high score for the team.

“As a team, we played really well, even when we were dominating,” said freshman Leslie Norberg, who plays front half.  “We didn’t let the score affect our game play.”

Western junior Mika Underwood, who plays lock, said most plays take some time to execute. One play in the first half helped put the women in gear. Underwood caught the ball on a kick off and took it up the field. She returned the kick, and everyone worked well to spread out so they could score.

“We were focusing more on keeping the intensity up on the field,” Underwood said. “That was my main goal.”

The team scored eight tries in the first half and six tries in the second half. The players agreed this was a great game for the entire team.

“All of us played well as a team,” said sophomore Britana Wanamaker, who plays wing. “Everyone got the ball and all-around, we played a fantastic team game. We were winning [by so many points] that we got to practice a lot that we don’t usually get to in games. Passing, [getting the ball]—we got to practice how we want to normally play.”

Wanamaker scored two tries for the team.

Senior Sarah Faulk, backs captain, said the team played especially well during the second half.

“We took it to the next level,” Faulk said. “I could see everything we were practicing—using the space on offense, bringing the ball back in—people were doing that.”

Although a team is allowed eight substitutions per game, usually they are not all used, which made this game unique, Faulk said. The team was able to utilize every player because they were winning by such a large margin.

“The season is almost over, so we tried to get the rookies some playing time,” Faulk said.

One rookie who played particularly well was Norberg, Faulk said. Norberg has been injured for the past few weeks, and has not been able to play with the team. She subbed in after halftime.
“I was a little flustered, but calmed down and started to think about the game more,” Norberg said.
The women are looking forward to playing Washington State University at noon this Saturday at the Wade King Student Recreation Center outdoor field. Both teams are undefeated and the players are pretty evenly matched, Underwood said.
“We took [this game] seriously, and overall everyone stepped up their game,” Underwood said. “We wanted to bring the intensity that we are bringing against WSU.”

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