MARFU Wins First U19 Title

In the last four years that Kevin Castner and Tony DeRemer have been coaching the Mid-Atlantic's Girls' U-19 All Star program, the team has improved from 7th, to 5th, to 3rd. Consistent with the trend, MARFU won the 2010 national tournament this weekend, defeating the Midwest 13-10 in the semifinals and USA U17s 15-6 in the championship. The West defeated the Midwest 8-0 for third, the latter of which will be replaced by the Northeast, which won the Tier B championship.

Much of MARFU's success can be credited to the way the region has bought in to the program. Between 80-90 players tried out for the all star squad, and a healthy balance of high school and college players comprised the team. Eastern Pennsylvania is the most represented local union on the Sharks, followed by the Potomac LAU, and one player from the Virginia union (UVA was unavailable for tryouts). As the team gathered for training sessions in advance of the tournament, everyone was on the same page: Win a national championship.

Perhaps the difference in this year's team was MARFU's forwards. In years past, the territory has showcased very strong backs, with good speed and kicking skills, but the forwards had difficulty at the breakdown and scrum. Coming into this season, the coaches realized that if they were to contend for a title, they'd have to focus on choosing the region's best forwards.

The strategy worked, as all tries scored on the weekend came out of the forwards. It began in the semis with a very tight affair against the Thunderbirds.

"We knew that the Midwest was looking to take control in the forwards and centers, leading with hard runners and tacklers," Castner said. "We wanted to make sure that we took the same stance, that we dominated the line of scrimmage in the scrum and routinely got over the gain line."

The first half was pretty even, with MARFU taking the first lead off a Marlie Doriston (University of Maryland) try, but the Midwest tied it up before the half, 5-5.

"In the second half, we started dominating with our counter-rucking and were able to steal possession in first and second phase," Castner said. "We added in our kicking game as well and starting attacking out wide to spread their defense. The extra space allowed prop-cum-number eight Hope Rogers (South Penn) the room to score, 10-5, before the Midwest scored another tying try in the center, 10-10.

With three minutes to go, MARFU was awarded a penalty about 30 meters out froom the posts and Grace Koplow (St. Mary's College) nailed the three-pointer for the win, 13-10.

Everyone exited the 70-minute match relatively healthly, allowing coaches to field their best lineup possible for the USA U17s, which had the West in its semifinal.

"The girls weren't intimidated," Castner said of his players in advance of facing the national team. "They were excited to show that they had the ability to play at this level, to represent their country. They played to their strengths and controlled the game through the forwards, which carried us over in the end. If there were any nerves in the beginning, they disappeared after a few minutes once they realized they were playing toward a national championship."

The first half proved tough, ending in a 5-3 lead to MARFU after captain Jennifer Sandifer (USNA) touched down 10 minutes into the game. In the second stanza, the Mid-Atlantic began to control several points of the game, including a stronger scrum that stole five from the junior Eagles. Their main deficiency, however, was their penalty count (12 total) that allowed the USA to take a 6-5 lead with 20 minutes to go.

"We had been dominating possession, but just couldn't convert into points," Castner said. "After the USA went ahead, the team buckled down and realized it needed to finish the match off and produce a commanding lead."

But then Rogers went down with a potentially game-ending injury. She turned out to be OK, and the setback proved to be a motivator for the no. 8. "I don't know what happened," Castner reflected, "something triggered, she stepped it up and started playing at a higher level."

Rogers went on to score two unconverted tries, one from an eightman pick and the other in open field, each for 30+ meters. "She just barreled through people," Castner said. "She's a very good player, very mobile and quick. Combined with the great leadership of Jenn Sandifer, who led the team by example and commanded everyone's attention when she spoke, the team had good role models."

The game ended 15-6 at the final whistle, it was a race to midfield for a celebration. "It went better than we could have ever imagined," Castner gushed. "This weekend fulfilled a lot of people's dreams of a national championship, people who might not be able to do it with their home high school or college."

USA U20 coach Bryn Chivers shared a few words with Castner and DeRemer and will consult with the coaches after reviewing the game footage. The team rostered two 15-year-olds and 80% of the squad had prior interaction with the coaches, meaning they're finding girls early and exposing them to higher level rugby as often as possible. There's no reason to doubt that MARFU's building a winning tradition at the U19 all star level.