Saturday, May 7, 2016 – Mid-Atlantic Conference Semi Finals

Today our lovely ladies traveled to Alapocas Run State Park in wet Wilmington, Delaware to begin a run at a National title. In order to get there, though, the Harlots first needed to take on a feisty Doylestown side.

Playing up hill the first half is always a chore, and the first half of this match was tough slogging for the Harlots. Nice drives were stymied short of pay dirt, but there were some bright spots. Fly half Georgia had some brilliant kicks, and combined with great coverage by McSpeedy, the Harlots were able to keep the more aggressive side at bay. Playing solid defense and utilizing a steady attack, the Harlots kept the game close. The determination that has carried our Ladies to the playoffs was on display throughout the half. Alas, Doylestown scored first, and with that the rout would be on. However, at the half the score would be just 0-5 Doylestown.

Coach Adi rallied the troops together during the break, and with that our women of ill repute would start the second half working hard. What’s that? We said the rout was on? And so it was, for our ladies. As usual, the Harlots started scoring allllll daaaaaay loooong. In fact, they scored 3 tries in just about 8 minutes.

The game quickly got out of hand, and there was no drop off once all substitutions were made. In the end, the second half was an awesome display of offensive firepower and defensive tenacity which would lead to a final score of 34-5 in favor of the Harlots.

Highlights included Georgia’s kicks and ball movement, Ali’s in-your-face defense, Teja’s hard running and hard hitting, Cheese’s hard running, and “OC” Original Courtney’s kicking the door in and doing the dirty work all day long.

Nice job ladies. Tomorrow brings the dreaded and really tough looking Brandywine side. They are big, fast and decisive. Gonna be a tough match.

Sunday, May 8, 2016 – Mid-Atlantic Conference Finals

MOTHER’S DAY IS A WOMEN’S RUGBY DAY!

The MAC championship match was here, and it saw our favorite and beloved Harlots taking on a solid Brandywine side. This would be no easy task for our Ladies. They would need to play their best rugby of the season to pull off the “upset” over the Brandywine women. Instead of putting in the much needed effort, the Harlots decided to up the ante for Mother’s Day and play possibly the best game in franchise history.

Repeating the strategy from Saturday’s game, our Gals played up hill and into the wind first half. However, the women, bolstered by their full retinue of players and the return of the sun (making her first appearance since February, trouble with her CIPP), did not wait until the second half to start the attack. Right from the opening kickoff, it was obvious that our heroines would seek to control the tempo of the game. Team rugby took center stage when just three minutes into play LD burst the scoring open. Aggressive, attacking rugby with hard crashes and well-timed offloads created the opportunity. With the points after good, Harrisburg was up, just like that, 7-0.

The match went back and forth for the next 20 minutes. The Harlots kept the bigger Brandywine side on their heels with punishing runs and aggressive team defense. Brandywine attempted to counter this new-look Harrisburg team by moving their backline back 15 meters from the breakdowns in an effort to tire out our ladies before they could make contact. However, rugby is a game of ebbs and flows and gravity takes its toll. Utilizing the wind and the downhill, Brandywine kicked over the Harlots with some well placed, booming kicks. This tactic slowed HRFC’s pace a little and opened up the field just enough to set up two successive tries for them.

Coach Adi gathered the troops after the opposition’s second try and rekindled the Harlot fire. The final score of the first half saw Muscles stunning Brandywine, breaking tackle after tackle on her 80 meter run for the try zone. With another conversion made, our Ladies were up 14-10 and would not relinquish the lead.

The second half brought more of the same. This time, the wind and hill were in the Harlots’ favor. Taking a bit longer to score in this half, the Harlots waited until six minutes into the half to get on the boards when “OC” Original Courtney used her world-famous door kicking ability to nail a tough penalty kick.

The Women did not let off the gas. Pressing the attack, playing in-your-face defense, and possessing a champion’s attitude, our Girls continued to bring their game to the bigger Brandywine team. Once again, after some nice team play, McSpeedy finally broke free and scored a try. But, the Harlots were not done yet. LD wanted to see the try zone one last time and dotted down the final ‘Burg try of the day. Brandywine would score a last-gasp try very late in the game, but would not be able to threaten the Harlots’ lead. Final score was a beautiful Mother’s Day Bouquet of 27-15 in favor of the Harlots.

This game was arguably the best, most complete game the Harlots have ever played. They played defense “up field” which severely impeded the other team from running their offense. It led to multiple mishandles and forced them to run sideways. Offensively, the ladies ran an organized attack. Operating off the same page, they made very few errors that were unforced. They ran straight and attacked gaps. Brandywine is a top-notch team, but they had no answer for our much more aggressive style. Well deserved victory by our Ladies – you all should be proud!

Highlights included, but definitely were not limited to: Georgia, not enough can be said about the game she played – she kicked, tackled, and ran the way every fly half should, but few can. “OC” played some of her personal best rugby, as well. Team mother Goody ran the show at scrum half and kept the team pace aggressive, but under control. Lauren put in an excellent half, running strong and with support. Ali just continued to crush on defense. Reapsome did the dirty work. Honestly, way too many highlights. But the best highlight was the “team” win. Unselfish play, smart decisions, and aggressive team defense.

Phenomenal job, Harlots! Next up: USA Rugby Club National Quarter Finals in Pittsburgh, PA!