By: Nick Pope: Sports Information Director
NEED TO KNOW
Life U 49, Dartmouth 22
HANOVER, N. H. — The Life University Women's Rugby overcame a slow start Saturday, scoring six tries in the second half to pull away from Dartmouth, 49-22.
After a long trip and a late arrival, the Running Eagles took some time to settle in before finding their rhythm and putting together a dominant second half.
Despite the travel, Life U took the lead inside three minutes when Alyssa Hine finished a counterattack after Dartmouth kicked the ball away. The Running Eagles struggled to build on the early advantage, however, as handling errors and passes going to ground allowed the hosts to capitalize and level the match just past the 10-minute mark.
The Running Eagles regained the lead in the 18th minute when Alilia Tuitavake scored off a lineout. Dartmouth answered from a scrum on the half-hour mark, and the hosts continued to put pressure on the Running Eagles defense as Life worked to find its rhythm.
Life went into halftime with the lead after Jainaya Masunu finished a quick tap penalty on the stroke of halftime.
The second half was a different story.
Life quickly took control after the break, with Liberty Benitez scoring in the 48th minute off a scrum. Olivia Frisby followed five minutes later from the same platform to extend the Running Eagles' lead.
Hine added her second try in the 56th minute, finishing a lineout attack under the posts. Nevaeh Elliott then scored off another quick tap in the 61st minute, giving Life four unanswered tries in a 13-minute span.
Dartmouth answered with a try off a lineout in the 66th minute, but the Running Eagles continued to apply pressure.
CeCe Rose scored off another scrum in the 73rd minute before Masunu collected a kickoff and raced back for her second try of the afternoon with three minutes remaining, giving Life nine tries on the day.
The nine tries came in five different ways. Life scored three times from the scrum, twice from the lineout, twice off quick taps, once on a kick return and once directly from a kickoff. Seven different Running Eagles found the try line.
Director of Rugby Ryszard Chadwick credited Dartmouth for making Life work through the opening half before highlighting the team's ability to create scoring opportunities in multiple ways.
"We travelled long and we got in late, and it showed - it took us a half to look like ourselves. Credit to Dartmouth, they were right in it up to that point. But once we settled we took the game over in every area that decided it: possession, territory, how often we got into their 22 and what we did when we got there. What pleases me most is the number of ways we scored. Three off the scrum, two off the lineout, two off quick taps, one from a kick return and one straight off a kickoff - seven different players over the line. If a side can only hurt you one way, you can plan for them. We hurt Dartmouth from everywhere, and that's a much harder thing to prepare for."
The forwards played a major role in the victory. Life won every scrum and turned three of those opportunities into tries while forcing Dartmouth into two scrum penalties. The Running Eagles also went 8-for-9 on lineouts despite Dartmouth contesting nearly every throw.
Life's set-piece success helped create opportunities for the backs and allowed the Running Eagles to control the match after halftime.
There is still work to do, as Life converted just two of nine goal-kicking attempts and was penalized 11 times. Both areas will need to improve, but neither kept the Running Eagles from pulling away on Saturday.
After a slow start on the road, Life responded with a dominant second half to earn a 49-22 victory and score nine tries against Dartmouth.
