The women’s team at Minnesota State University Moorhead formed in 2001, made its first playoff appearance in 2011, and has been a regular fixture in the post-season since then. Athena Aitken (’12) transitioned from Moorhead player to head coach directly after graduation, and this year’s trip to the National Small College Rugby Organization (NSCRO) 15s championship marks the team’s fourth final-four appearance, all under Aitken’s reign.
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Moorhead advanced to its first NSCRO nationals in 2014 and placed third, and then in 2015, the Minnesota team beat Colgate for the national 15s title. After two years stuck at the regional championship level, Moorhead returned to nationals in 2018.
Photo courtesy MSUM Women’s Rugby Facebook
“A huge factor in our success has been the core group we have cultivated from year to year, and including everyone from freshmen to fifth-year seniors. We pride ourselves in integrating athletes from different sporting backgrounds and helping them utilize their skills in rugby,” Aitken pointed to program highlights. “We have the multi-sporters, the specialists, and the ‘benchwarmers.’ Speaking as a coach, it has been a joy to watch athletes who have typically been overlooked in high school sports find rugby and blossom in both confidence and ability.”
There are six seniors who are the leading the way in experience and as examples of flexibility.
“All of them have played in multiple positions, which speaks to their level of commitment and willingness to learn skills outside their comfort zone,” Aitken commended. “Our captain, Cassandra Jackson, started as an eightman and is now our wing or fullback, depending on the day. She took it upon herself last year to improve her defense and overall speed/agility, which has cemented her place in the backline.”
Photo courtesy MSUM Women’s Rugby Facebook
Senior lock Nicole Evenson sets the tone in the Moorhead pack, pushing the work rate and producing lots of turnover ball at the rucks. Of the rookie class, fifth-year senior Kylee Billings has been a boon. A Moorhead varsity soccer player for four years, Billings has great footwork and ball-in-hand skills, and is a natural on defense – all of which made the newcomer an immediate addition to the starting line. Her talent translated at the next level, and Billings was named tournament MVP at the NSCRO Central Regional Championship.
The pieces started assembling during the Northern Lights hybrid competition, which interweaves higher-achieving NSCRO teams with Division II teams. The fall began with a three-point loss to Mankato State and then followed with four-straight victories to finish second at the end of the regular season.
Photo courtesy MSUM Women’s Rugby Facebook
“Playing in the hybrid league has been a great opportunity for us these last two years,” Aitken explained. “In the past we have struggled with teams forfeiting or not showing up with enough people to safely hold a league game. There was a past year where we had no home games at all which was disappointing for our fans but also for our campus visibility. We depend on home games to show rugby to any prospective players so they can decide if rugby would be a good fit.”
The Northern Lights conference did not separate out its NSCRO and DII teams during the first round of its post-season, but instead fielded Cup and Plate brackets that did not distinguish between the two playoff tracks. Moorhead took the second seed into the Cup bracket and faced No. 3 North Dakota in an 83-21 semifinal win. In the Cup final, Moorhead dropped a 22-17 decision to Mankato. There was one more round of conference playoffs, however, that interwove the Cup and Plate NSCRO teams and determined seed to the regional championships. Moorhead beat Plate champion College of St. Scholastica 77-31 and took the more favorable berth to the Central pool, while Scholastica traveled to Nebraska, home to Wayne State College.
Photo courtesy MSUM Women’s Rugby Facebook
Moorhead traveled to the Central Regional Championship in Delaware, Ohio, and put in the most dominant performance of any team in action that weekend. In the Round of 16, the Minnesotans beat Ohio Valley’s Denison University 104-0, and in the quarterfinals, Moorhead shut out Upstate New York’s Ithaca College 82-0.
“Regionals showed the full potential of the team and it felt as if everything fell into place,” Aitken reflected. “We had some glimmers of brilliance during the regular season, but we have struggled with the scrum and with defensive organization. Our forwards put in a dominant performance, winning turnover ball in the contact area and using their size to their advantage at the breakdown.”
Photo courtesy MSUM Women’s Rugby Facebook
The back line made good use of the hard-fought possession, and against Denison, freshman wing Maabendu Sirleaf scored three tries, shut down the outside channel defensively and produced turnovers. In the quarterfinals, sophomore flyhalf Jasmyn Nash scored three tries, two of which were individual efforts returning restarts.
“On Sunday we enjoyed more clinical possession owing in part to forwards who would not traditionally see much of the ball,” the coach explained. “Junior prop Annika Sannes set up two tries on the wing, each time drawing the defender into contact and making an excellent offload to senior second row Laurel Hoseth, who finished both tries with exceptional footwork and good fends.”
Photo courtesy MSUM Women’s Rugby Facebook
Moorhead was fortunate to face its best competition – DII Mankato – at the beginning and end of the Northern Lights season, and that early push and the adjustments that followed refined the Minnesota squad into one that dominated its regional opposition.
“The team is looking and feeling good for nationals with no serious injuries coming out of playoffs, and we are glad to have the Thanksgiving break for a chance to recharge our mental batteries before we dive into indoor practices and classroom times,” Aitken recapped. “With the current temperatures and snow on the ground, outdoor practices will be few and far between, weather permitting. For the first time ever we will be traveling with a full roster, which helps to focus the mind knowing your replacement is waiting in the wings.”
Moorhead will face three-time reigning NSCRO 15s national champion Wayne State College in Saturday’s semifinal. For more information, visit www.nscro.org.