Stanford gets past BYU in Elite Eight
Fri, 05/23/2014 - 1:01pm
By John Reid San Jose Mercury News Daily News Staff Writer -Posted: 04/28/2014 07:06:11 PM PDT0 Comments | Updated: 25 days ago
Jordan Gray on offense for BYU vs Stanford 2014. Dana Greenwood in support.
Stanford women's rugby has been a fixture at the USA Rugby National Championships for over a decade. Why change things?
Stanford is off to the Division I Final Four after a hard-fought 26-17 win over BYU in an Elite Eight match at Steuber Rugby Stadium on Saturday. Stanford won't have to travel far as it is the host site for the championships May 8-10.
"BYU was athletic, physical and a worthy adversary," Stanford coach Matt Sherman said. "They were committed with their season on the line."
Tighthead prop Maxine Fonua's third try of the game 71 minutes in, plus a 2-point conversion by Aly Gleason, had to provide some bit of relief that the feisty Cougars were at arm's length.
"I wasn't really paying attention how many tries I scored," said Fonua, a Hawaiian native. "Our forwards really brought it. We gave a good platform for our backs."
Stanford scored quickly to go up 5-0. Good ball movement to the weak side resulted in a try by center Madeline Wilson, who put the ball down far left of post in the second minute. Gleason's conversion effort was short to the left.
"Madeline had a really good game," Sherman said. "She ran hard and tackled hard."