CGA: When a Loss is a Good Thing

The U.S. Coast Guard Academy has kept the New England Wide conference title, but it’s been a different, arguably more beneficial, path to the championship this season. A mid-season loss humbled the Bears, and now the Connecticut team is attacking the rest of the fall with a new awareness and intensity.

Clare Dorsey stepped into the head coaching role this fall following Bill Anderson’s retirement and a year as his assistant coach. Fortunately, there’s a big class of returning seniors, many of which are starters, to keep that continuity intact. Of those 11 seniors, Hollis Roush and Katherine McDonnell serve as captains and set the tone for the squad.

“The first two games went well and lived up to my expectations,” Dorsey said of a 40-14 win against New Hampshire and 75-26 win against Maine. “UVM was unexpected, to say the least. With any close game or loss, you can look back at 100 different reasons or factors why it happened the way it did. On this day, Vermont came out and wanted the game more than we did.”

Coast Guard held a 21-14 halftime lead, as Roush (2) and Grace McInturf scored tries and the senior captain connected on all three conversions. Vermont got its points from Cora Honigfford and Ashley Mekklesen, while Amara Chittenden added both conversions.

“We felt flat, a little complacent, even though we went into the half up a try,” Dorsey said. “But Vermont realized they could beat Coast Guard, and coming out of the half, they were amped. We were waiting the game out instead of going out there and after the win.”

Vermont put down four tries in approximately 15 minutes, and despite two yellow cards and a red card, produced a 40-31 victory.

“It was difficult. Everyone was in a state of shock. It was our first regular-season loss in years, so there were tears and frustration and disappointment,” Dorsey recalled the team’s reaction. “From my perspective, it was a wakeup call: The conference championship will not be handed to us this season. It was the best thing that could have happened to us at that point in the season, and we used that humbling experience to kick-start what we needed to focus on.”

Dorsey explained that there was no need to change anything tactical, that everyone was playing the way the team practiced, just not with the intensity and dedication that was required. There were still some team dynamics that needed to be sorted, as the large senior class settled into their leadership roles.

“We were accustomed to success and because we were such a similar team to last year, we anticipated similar success, especially in the regular season. And Vermont is a good team that played hard,” Dorsey said. “There was definitely a change in focus and energy after that, and it showed in the Smith game, which was what we expected. And then last weekend was a whole different feel.”

Coast Guard bounced back with a 111-0 win over Smith College and then readied for then-undefeated Hartford. The way the NEWCRC playoffs are structured, there is only one round of playoffs to determine the conference champion and berths to regionals. The top two teams in the standings play for first, while the third- and fourth-place teams play for third. Hartford had defeated Vermont 29-19 earlier in the season and so Coast Guard had to win last weekend to stay in the title hunt.

The Bears ran out to a 40-5 halftime lead and held Hartford to that one try until the final 15 minutes of the game. No. 8 Rama Sisay scored three of Hartford’s final four tries, but Coast Guard built enough of a lead for a 62-27 win. Roush led all point-scorers with 37 on five tries and six conversions. Mary Sims (2), Ariyanna Jurkowski and Sadie Simons also scored tries.

“That game definitely demonstrated that we could dominate a team if we put our mind to it,” Dorsey said. “I was really happy with that performance.”

Three teams ended the regular season 4-1 but an extra bonus point afforded Hartford the berth to the conference title match. Hartford forfeited the championship match, thus affording Coast Guard the title and number one seed, but will be allowed to take the second berth to fall regionals. Vermont and Maine will play for third place and the at-large bid to the Round of 32.

“It’s a little bit of a mixed bag,” Dorsey regarded the extra rest week. “On the one side, all the cadets are feeling a little run down with all their other commitments. … Everyone could use some down time. On the flip side, getting away from the pitch too long, you can lose that edge. The challenge from a coaching perspective is getting enough down time to recuperate and then refocusing and honing that edge.”

Nov. 16 is the regional Round of 32, and Coast Guard will host that match. Should the Bears win, then the team will head to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., for the Round 16/8 on Nov. 23-24. The teams that go 2-0 will advance to the semifinals/championship on Dec. 7-8 in Matthews, N.C.

“Vassar is the obvious answer,” Dorsey said of hopeful opponents. “We’d relish the opportunity to play them again, especially after last year. That’s definitely something in the back of my mind: How do we prepare for them? But this season, we’re not taking anything for granted. Every team we’re taking incredibly seriously.”

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