The weather for our first match was unseasonably cold, but everything was going our way. Earlier in the week, the UT Dallas Women's Soccer team came through donating 2 sets of jerseys to the rugby club until we are able to purchase a rugby set of jerseys.
Rice showed up with 6 ladies ready to play, UT Dallas had about 15 to begin with, so it was agreed by the coaches that UT Dallas would give Rice 4 players and we would play two 20 minute halves. The players given to Rice for the first half would come back to us for the second and we'd give them 4 new players.
The match kicked off on time, the four players given to Rice were Judit, Emily, Guadalupe and Melissa. All of them played very well with Rice and they all showed that no matter what jersey they wear, they want to play the game.
The line up for the first half:
Props - Ariel and Gisselle, Hooker - Lisa, Second Row - Vic and Candria, Scrumhalf - Alyssa, Flyhalf - Rachael, Centers - Stephanie and Cora, Wing - Marie.
The first half was an even match with both teams scoring 3 times, conversions were not made and the first half ended tied at 15 each. One note about this half was that both clubs played with inexperienced players and this was an excellent opportunity for both to excel, grow and learn and that's what everyone did.
The second half, UT Dallas players going to Rice were Candria, Natch (Veronica), Cora and Gisselle, and like their counter parts in the first half, they played well with Rice in the game.
The second half line up:
Props - Melissa and Guadalupe, Hooker - Lauren, Second Row - Ariel and Lisa, Scrumhalf - Alyssa, Flyhalf Rachael, Centers Stephanie and Judit, Wing - Marie
The second half was more UT Dallas than an even match, the UT Dallas ladies opened up a flurry of trys in this half. It was a combination of open field running, good support, conditioning and non tackles, but there were about 7 trys scored in this half, the final score was UT Dallas 57 - Rice 15
Trys scored by Alyssa (4 Trys, 2 or more Conversions), Marie (2 Trys), Stephanie, Ariel, Lisa (1 Try each), there were at least 3 more trys, I didn't get because of the flurry, but will update this as soon as I know.
There were a few players that didn't get to play because of confusion on my part and I apologize for this and will not let this happen again, those players will get good playing time in our next match, Sarah, Karmen, Samantha and Emily. While Emily got playing time with Rice, she didn't get any time with her own team and that won't happen again.
The men's match against McMurray University was cancelled because they didn't have enough players to field a side against us, this match will either be rescheduled or a forfeit will be issued and that will be worked out shortly. The men take on the University of Dallas this coming weekend in Irving, directions to the field will be posted shortly. UD has been on the short side of scoring against UTD this past season, but I look to see a stronger side to face us especially on their home pitch. They could be a dangerous side, but the lads of UT Dallas will be prepared to face anything they want to throw at us.