Moon, PA- The RMU Women's Rugby team pulled out a pair of massive wins this weekend to claim the Allegheny Rugby Union's 7's Bowl Series Championship. There were four teams involved in this division in a two round, bracket style tournament. RMU first went up against Clarion University. 

Semifinals, RMU v. Clarion: RMU Wins 29-0

Against Clarion, the Colonials took care of business early. They held the advantage in possession and spent much of the game on the Clarion half of the field. RMU's first try came only two and a half minutes into the match. Once they got ahold of the ball again, RMU marched down the field through a series of broken tackles and good passes to score another try in the first half. With one of the two tries having a successful conversion kicks, RMU led 12-0. With another march down the field before the half with a successful conversion kick followed by a last second sprint covering half the field for another try, RMU led 24-0 at the half.

RMU would add on one more try in the second half for a convincing 29-0 win over Clarion. Sophomore Kayla Pierce was the top scorer for RMU in the opening game with 3 tries, as well as going 2 for 5 on conversion kicks. Junior Anastasia Heinold and Senior Briana Allen each added a try for RMU

Finals, RMU v. Saint Vincent: RMU wins 12-10

With the victory, RMU moved to the finals to take on Saint Vincent College. This was a much closer game than the opening round for RMU as SVC took the opening lead with a try in the first half. The Colonials answered back late in the first half with a try of their own. They won a scrum from about 35 yards from the try zone, got the ball moving laterally into space, and Katherine Nyhart found an opening on the outside to sprint it in from distance. The game was tied at the half 5-5.

Saint Vincent retook the lead only a little over a minute into the second half. But with another missed conversion kick, the score sat at 10-5. With only a few minutes remaining in the game, Anastasia Heinold pulled out a superhuman effort to tie the game for RMU. Receiving the ball of a lateral at midfield, she wouldn't be denied as she broke tackle after tackle, totalling 6 over the course of the run. With authority she put the ball down in the try zone for RMU to tie the game, and Kayla Pierce nailed the conversion kick to make it 12-10 RMU. Despite one more dangerous scoring chance for SVC, the Colonials fought it off and held on for the victory.
 

The team has had some ups and downs this season on the pitch but when it came to this event, the RMU Women's Rugby team overcame every obstacle thrown their way and walked away with the trophy for the 2021 ARU 7's Bowl Series.