Chico State played Stanford, Saturday, Jan. 19, winning 43-19 in their season opener.
Coming off the high of their national championship last spring, Chico State set a similar pace to start of their new season. Facing off against Stanford away from home, this opening match showed the Wildcats won’t be backing down post nationals win.
Starting the match strong, wing Alyssa Pena set Chico ahead with a try early on in the first half. Stanford pushed ahead with a try and conversion, but inside centre, and co-captain, Hannah Westfall put another seven points on the board with a try and conversion.
After falling behind just before the half, flanker Max Brissenden scored two tries in quick succession to push Chico ahead 24-19. Stanford scored shortly after, but outside centre Ashley Evans pulled through with another five points, with Westfall kicking a conversion. Pena would go on to score twice more before the match ended. Chico won the game 43-19, in a fantastic end to their season opener.
“We all stepped up and played Chico rugby.” said co-captain, Becky Luedke. “Overall it was a good game, especially in the second half, we picked up the pace and hit hard.”
Looking back, Chico had similar results in their season opener last year, with a 48-17 win over Stanford at home. With new captains and new players, this team is ready to move on into the competitive season.
Moving forward, Chico will be playing Humboldt on Sunday, Jan. 27 in their next league match. The Chico State Women’s Rugby Club is a competitive D1 sports club at Chico State.
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