Madalian Tracks Golden Rams’ Rise

West Chester University won its first-ever national championship last weekend, defeating Brown University 15-14 for the Tier 2 National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) title. The final capped at undefeated season that evolved after several come-from-behind or single-digit victories throughout the fall.

“We came into the season ranked fifth and now we’re number one. No one was rooting for us, but now we’re top dog,” national championship MVP Lauren Madalian said. “And we’ve got to keep it up.”

West Chester is one of the longest-running NCAA women’s varsity programs in the country and its successes have rested on the talent of Pennsylvania and surrounding states. You won’t see New Zealand, England, Canada or California on the Golden Rams’ roster. Madalian, a sophomore, is a product of Morris, N.J.

“It shows that you don’t need all these players from different countries [to win]. Just get the best talent from the local area,” Madalian said. “We’re all from New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and we won a national title. [Head coach] Tony [DeRemer] pulls the best people from the area, although maybe now people from farther out will be reaching out.”

There was a little diversity in this year’s incoming class, notably lock Haley Andreasen out of the Hopkins, Minn., program, and several players with state all-star experience, like Heather Spangler and Faith Morley. As these newcomers pushed for field time, DeRemer’s cautious optimism for a good season [read more] began to morph.

“We’ve been on a roll. Throughout the whole season, Tony’s mindset was: This could be the year we could go the championship,” Madalian said. “He cracked down on us more – three hours at practice every day, morning workouts twice a week, put in 110%. You’ve got to put in everything you’ve got to win.”

West Chester beat the entire Tier 2 field, pushing through some close calls like the 25-14 season-opener against Brown and the 15-14 battle against Mount St. Mary’s College.

“When we were 9-0,” Madalian recalled the moment it clicked for the team. “It was the first time in West Chester history that a team went 9-0. We all looked at each other: We’re going to do this. We’re that team making history and we’re going to go all the way.”

West Chester met Mount St. Mary’s in the Tier 2 semifinals and expected a tough game against a familiar opponent. The match proved the be very useful in terms of preparing for the final. The Golden Rams went down 12-0 early and rallied back for a 12-10 first-half deficit.

“We’ve always been a second-half team through the whole year … but we were all looking at each other like: What are we doing,” Madalian remembered that halftime regrouping. “Juah [Toe] and Haley [Spangler] were saying: In order to get to the final, we need to make something happen. We need to do this for us, for our coach, team and the alumni.”

The Mountaineers had a strategy for outside center Autumn Czaplicki, West Chester’s leading try-scorer and offensive dynamo, and halftime allowed the Rams to reassess attack options.

“Autumn, as most people know, can get through the line every single time … but this was the first game where she wasn’t able to break the line. ‘Oh crap, what are we going to do,’” Madalian recalled the brainstorming. “[Freshman No. 8] Heather Spangler had the game of her life. Early in the second half she was able to power though at least 3-4 people to make it the try line. That lit a fire in everyone.”

West Chester pulled away for the 32-19 win and berth to the championship.

“It was definitely important to have right before the final,” Madalian said of the semifinal comeback. “Going into it – it’s not that we relied on one person, we played as a team – but it was always: Get the ball to Autumn and she’ll score. Then we got to a point where the defense knew how to shut her down, but it allowed players like Haley, Heather and Faith [Morley] to step up and do so well and move the ball.”

On the other side of the bracket, Brown beat Queens 23-15.

“We knew their center [Abby O’Keefe] was amazing and scored most of their tries against us in the first game. We knew we had to shut that down,” Madalian said of prep. “But the film we focused on was the Queens vs. Brown semifinal. Their 14 [Mahdia Parker] was really fast; if she got the ball, she was down the sideline scoring tries. Our game plan was to cut that off before it got to the wing. The centers and forwards had to come up on defense and shut that down.”

No one was exempt from the nerves that accompany a national championship game, not the coaches nor any of the players. This event was by far the most visible and weighty. 2019 was the first time three title matches would be played across Tiers 1 and 2, and Division III. ESPN+ broadcast the game, and John Broker, Alex Goff and Emily Roskopf called the game. Harvard’s Mignone Field served as a beautiful venue and sponsor HSBC made its presence known as well. NIRA commissioner Amy Rusert did a great job.

“The night before, our captains had a pasta party and we all wrote down our strengths as individuals,” Madalian said. “Juah’s a psych major and had us take deep breaths and imagine what the final would be like, scoring that try and lifting that trophy. But we were all freaking out because this was the first time West Chester went to nationals since [2006] when they went to the final four in California. But the whole car ride up to Harvard, we were messing around, just happy to be here.”

November 17 was a cold day, especially with wind chill, and especially with snow. Mixed in with the nerves, and West Chester the first half of the final, trailing 14-0 at half.

“We were knocking on left and right. It’s not the way we play. And their defense was amazing. We had no idea what to do,” Madalian said. “It was a reality check: This isn’t going to be easy or a blowout, because we’ve had some blowout wins this year. We weren’t coming up on defense and that’s what Tony told us: Why aren’t you doing what we practice?

“The positivity was crazy,” the wing said of the players’ mindset. “I remember Haley saying: We aren’t out of this, are you crazy!? Do you know how many times we were down or tied [and went on to win]? We trained for this moment.”

All the team needed was a little light, and it arrived approximately six minutes after the break. From a solid lineout, Madalian took a great line for a pass into space, setting up a two-on-one in Brown’s end. Corinne Gallagher called for the ball, Madalian pinned her opposite, and the wing took the pass into the try zone.

“That was the defining moment. It changed the whole mindset of the game. We were going crazy and looking at each other like: This is where we start,” Madalian said. “We needed someone to put a try in and light that fire for everyone. We started shutting down on defense and they didn’t score. We had them on defense and offense.”

The belief continued to build as Haley Spangler scored, and then Czaplicki dotted down the go-ahead try.

“It was 15-14 for at least 12 minutes but it felt like a whole 80 minutes,” Madalian said. “I remember telling Autumn: We just need to hold onto the ball.”

West Chester worked the clocked and held on for the one-point win and national title.

“It was a dream, not even kidding,” Madalian said of the final whistle. “All the pictures are so funny: There’s ugly crying, happy crying, screaming, jumping on each other. Everyone was crying because we worked so dang hard from August to November, every day.”

AS the team received their first-place medals, there was one more surprise for Madalian.

“I was standing in line, and they said my name and I looked at Juah, like, “What the …” and she came running at me, my hands were on my head,” the national championship MVP conveyed the utter shock. “I hugged my dad, he had tears in his eyes. This is insane. I would have never dreamed in a million years [that I’d win MVP].”

The fullback was quick to point to teammates to put in equally stellar performances on the day. She called out No. 8 Spangler for making those hard-charging runs through the center to get the defense scrambling; captain Toe for massive, positive tackles that allowed the defense to poach possession; and inside center Haley Spangler, “mom of the backline; nothing happens without her,” Madalian said.

It’s been a special season and there’s some programmatic momentum that the student-athletes need to harness. It’s not lost on the players and they’re already talking about the future.

“I was talking to the underclassmen,” the sophomore began, “that these seniors were able to get us here and when they leave – Haley, Juah, Harley [Divine], they’re the core – it’s going to be tough. Someone needs to step up and keep us going. Because we’re on the map.

“You need to watch out for us,” Madalian concluded. “We spent so much time putting in 110% all the time to get the title. I have to give thanks to Tony. … I’ve played on a lot of teams and no one supports his players as much as he does. He generally cares for us and would put his life on the line to get us that championship title.”

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