On Sep 23, 2017, the Mary Washington women's rugby team travelled to Williamsburg, VA to face the College of William & Mary. This would be the second league match for Mary Washington. Several players were looking forward to the match, as Mary Washington in recent years has been the stronger team.
On the opening kickoff, Mary Washington dropped a ball forward deep in their own territory, giving William & Mary a scrum just 20 meters from the goal. Mary Washington defense held William & Mary, forcing a turnover. The play moved back and forth between both team, as they each made several mistakes causing continual turnovers. Finally, Mary Washington's attack took possession of the ball. A deep kick down field ended in a foot race, with Jackie Sherman ('17) beating out the William & Mary defender, kicking the ball forward, putting the first points on the board. Seven minutes into the match, Mary Washington would take the lead 5-0.
As the half progressed, both teams started to work out the issues they each displayed at the start of the match. Mary Washington and William & Mary put together a series of attacks, but each side's defense stopped the other team. A little over a quarter of the way into the match, William & Mary attacked up the middle, catching the Mary Washington defenders off guard. A series of missed tackles allowed William & Mary to score. An unconverted try evened the score at 5-5. A few minutes after the ensuing kickoff, William & Mary mounted the same style attack, a series of runs with their forward, producing quick ball to their support players. Again, Mary Washington missed several tackles and William & Mary took the lead. This miscue seemed to have an immediate effect on Mary Washington. Unable to adjust mentally, William & Mary put in two more tries before the half, making the score 24-5.
At the start of the second half, it was apparent that the Mary Washington players never got mentally back into the match. In the first ten minutes of the second half, William & Mary produced 3 more tries, running the score up to 45-5. At this point, Mary Washington's defense came back to together, playing as they did in the first 20 minutes. Although keeping William & Mary from scoring, the Mary Washington offense was unable to add any points. With no time remaining, Mary Washington seemed to give up, as a William & Mary slipped in another try. When the match ended, the final score was 50-5 in William & Mary's favor.