vs. MEDIA UNITED GIRLS   4/11/10

Banshees 39 – Valley Forge 0  (Half: Banshees 24 – Valley Forge 0)

The Hibernian Banshee's traveled to beautiful Valley Forge to play the tough Valley Forge girls on a bright sunny day. The match was an exciting one which saw the return of Amanda Keiffer to the Banshee's. Amanda scored three tries on the day. It was like she has not missed a beat. It could have been four tries except Amanda touched down five meters short at the five minute mark. We have played Valley Forge twice and have lost both times to them so it was nice to come away with a win. We lost to VF in the play offs once 10-0 and in regular season 15-5. The match was refereed by Ginger Stringer.

The match:Valley Forge kicked off to us and the action started right away. Three minutes into the match play was stopped to take care of a bleeding VF player. Play resumed and a VF took a run around the end and was stopped cold by Devon and Nikki. At five minutes, from a VF scrum, the clearing kick was taken by Amanda Keiffer who ran all the way to the five meter line and touched down, no try. At the sixth minute a VF kick went to fullback Nicole who raced in for a converted try, 7 -0. There was about 10 minutes of good hard rugby played by both sides then at the 17th minute, we were awarded a penalty that Shauna took a run and was shaken up by the tackle. The 19th minute from a lost VF scrum, the ball went through hands landing in Amanda's who roared in for the try, conversion missed, 12 – 0. The ensuing kickoff went to Nicole who ran 70 meters to score under the posts. She converted, 19 – 0. A series of rugby went on for awhile and we were awarded penalties taken by Shauna and Amanda. They were both stopped by good VF defense. If those girls had more support maybe...??? The 32nd minute from a penalty Amanda had a good run and passed to Melissa who ran in for the try, conversion attempt missed, 24 – 0. The VF kick off to us went to Amanda who ran well and linked up with Melissa again who was stopped near the goal line. The ruck had a penalty against us. A VF player ran with the ball and was leveled by Imani. The half ended there.

The second half we kicked to VF and they went down the field and miss handled the ball. From our scrum, Sam passed to Jul who took off and fed Amanda for her second try of the day, unconverted, 29 – 0 in the first minute. The 42nd minute saw our Imani getting a yellow card for a dangerous tackle. That put her on the side line for 10 minutes. So we were down one player, Shauna was operating on a very sore knee and we still kept the pressure up. The 48th minute had a VF scrum stolen by Shannon, Amanda picked up and went down the short side, tackled, ruck won, ball went to fullback Nicole who went around the end and out paced everyone to get her second of the day, unconverted, 34 – 0. The 50th minute, Nicole had a try taken away as she ran around her own players to score, the call was obstruction. The 51st minute Jul went down with a hurt elbow and a minute later Imani banged her head on the ground hard and needed a minute to recover. At 58 minutes, A penalty was awarded to us 20 meters out and Amanda tapped and went in for her third try, unconverted, 39 – 0.The game was well in hand and the VF girls were trying very hard to score. They put up tremendous pressure and were stopped by Shauna then Imani. Second rower Lizzy made a try saving tackle and a moment later wing Nikki did it again. The match ended at this point with the score ending at 39 – 0. Whew! What a game. The Banshee's are starting to show something here...

The side: 1. Bozzo, 2. Hedden, 3. Kuepper, 4. Grohovsky, 5. Burdette, 6. Skinner, 7. Nero, 8. Keiffer, 9. Tretter, 10. Marino ©. 11. Pocetti, 12. Tickle, 13. Sottung, 14. Petito, 15. Benedetti.

Scoring: Keiffer 3 T, Benedetti 3T 2C, Tickle 1T.

______________________________________________________________

vs. MEDIA UNITED GIRLS   3/28/10

Banshees 80- Media United 5  (Half Banshees 44- Media United 0)

The Hibernian Banshee's hosted Media United Girls for our 2010 home season opener at Poplar Park with a huge 80-5 win. The Banshee's scored 14 tries and five conversions in two 30 minute halves. The match was refereed by Mr. Jack Dibble. He had a flair for the administrative end as much of my pre- game time was committed to filling out CIPP forms for him to present to the union. The match was played on a wet, overcast day that was quite cold. The day finished with a nice steady rain. Beautiful! The Media Girls arrived with nine players, putting themselves at a pretty large disadvantage for a league match. We had 13 girls at the start with one more arriving at mid way through the match. Since Media had only nine, we decided the best thing to do was to play 11 vs. 11. We loaned Media, centers Nicole Pocetti and Tiffany Petito for the first half. The match: Media kicked off to us and it was really apparent that the Banshee's would control this match. At the three minute mark Media committed a penalty. Shauna Kuepper tapped the ball and rumbled into the try zone. The conversion was missed, 5-0. At the six minute mark from a Banshee scrum, the ball was passed out to the backs to Jul Marino then center Kim Sottung to fullback Nicole Benedetti who scored her first try of the day, she missed the conversion, 10-0. The play was almost totally controlled by the Banshee's for the next several minutes. At the 12 minute mark, from a won ruck, after two phases, Kim came away with the ball, passed to scrum half Sam Tretter who passed to Devon Skinner who offloaded to Imani Nero who raced for her first try of the day, conversion missed, 15-0. The ensuing kick off was fielded by Imani who flew down the side line untouched for her second try, conversion missed, 20-0. At the 15th minute the Media girls put some pressure on us and our own Nicole Pocetti, playing for Media had a great run down to the five meter line before she was stopped by captain Jul Marino.The 19 minute mark from our scrum seven meters out, Shauna took the ball out and off loaded to Marino at five meters and she scored a try, converted by Nicole Benedetti, her first of the season. At the 21st minute, Media had a nice pick from the base of a ruck and got pretty far down field before being stopped. The 25th minute from nice open play, Kim made a nice break through two Media players putting away center Melissa Tickle for a 50 meter try, the first of her career, conversion made, 34-0. A minute later, from the Media kick, forward Allie Grohovsky took the kick upfield offloading to Imani who made a great run of 35 meters, she got caught, Devon Skinner supporting gathered the ball and ran in for the try, unconverted, 39-0. At the 29th minute, Shauna had a nice run upfield, formed a ruck, Sam passed out to Jul who hit Allie who had a strong run and hit supporting Kim who scored the try, unconverted, 44-0. At this point the half ended. The second half we switched centers Nicole Pocetti and Tiffany Petito for Melissa Tickle and Kim Sottung. We kicked off to Media and the pressure continued by the Banshee's. At 35 minutes, a scrum 30 meters from our defending end, ball was picked up and from a ruck forward Clair Bozzo had a powerful run of 30 meters and from the tackle, fullback Nicole collected the ball and raced in for a converted try, 51-0. At the 37th minute, from our scrum, Shauna took the ball herself going down the short side and hit Nicole Benedetti for the try, unconverted, 56-0. For the next several minutes, the girls were getting a little worn out, ( both sides), with some nice open play and the rain began to fall a little harder. At this time Lizzy Burdette entered the match. Not stopping there, at 48 minutes, from a scrum Imani took the ball passing to Devon who put Nicole Pocetti away for a 40 meter run, who was tackled. Supporting Sam Tretter scooped up the ball, nicely placed by Nicole and scored a converted try, 63-0. At the 50 minute mark from our scrum, Jul Marino took the pass from Tretter and raced in for a converted try under the goal posts, 70-0. Right after the kick off Clair Bozzo caught the ball and ran all the way in for the first try of her career, unconverted, 75-0. The 52nd minute, center Tiffany Petito and hooker Anna Weiszgerber put together some very nice passing and running. Two minutes later these two did it again with Anna scoring her first try of her career, unconverted, 80-0. The 56th minute, Tiffany Petito took the ball and ran into the try zone for what looked to all of us like a score. However the referee saw otherwise and awarded Media a 22 meter kick. We came right back down the field, Media, however were stiffening their defense or we were getting tired or both. The 28th minute, on a great pass from our Melissa Tickle, the Media scrum half took the ball and ran around all of the Banshee's scoring their first try of the season. That was the end of the scoring, 80-5. When the final whistle was blown we all took in a deep breath, whew! What was nice to me was that the Banshee's were quite humble in their rugby. Class. The Media Girls were pretty shell shocked. We all had a nice sandwich and drink together and got out of there. The players, supporters and parents should not get used to seeing that many points scored by one side, it's a rare thing. We like to see the work rate grow, though. That's how we can improve. We can as individuals raise the expectations of ourselves. Our opponents will surely do the same!. We have no match this Easter Sunday. We will train this week, though. Great job Banshee's. We must keep on working, no time to rest...

The side: 1. Nero, 2. Weiszgerber, 3.Bozzo, 4. Grohovsky, 5. Skinner, 6. Kuepper, 7. Tretter, 8. Marino ©, 9. Tickle (Petito)30mins, 10. Sottung (Pocetti) 30mins, 11. Benedetti, 12. Burdette 48mins.

Scoring: Benedetti 3T 5C, Marino 2T, Nero 2T, Kuepper 1T, Tickle 1T, Skinner 1T, Sottung 1T, Tretter 1T, Bozzo 1T, Weiszgerber 1T. Media, 1T.

Well Banshee's, put this game behind you. Your upcoming opponents will get stronger every week. Will you? We are all very proud of you! See you at training.

Banshees 29 - South Jersey  5   Half Banshees 15 - South Jersey 5

The 2010 East Penn High School Girls League season started with the Banshee's traveling to South Jersey for a 12 noon match. The weather was beautiful, sunny, not real hot, a perfect day for a rugby match. The Banshee's came with 16 girls, four of whom have played rugby before and when the final whistle blew the Banshee's scored five tries to South Jersey's one. 25-5. Halftime Banshee's 15-5. The match was refereed by Joe Duffy, a new referee to the game.

The Banshee's kicked off to SJ and with immediate pressure went backwards for the first few minutes. At the three minute mark we were awarded a scrum five meters from their goal line. Sam Tretter picked the ball up and ran into score the first try of her career and our season. Nicole Benedett missed the conversion attempt, 5-0. We received the kick off and settled into some play that saw both sides gaining and losing possession. There were many opportunities for the Banshee's and they used those in the next eight minutes but were stopped by SJ or mishandled the ball. At the 11 minute mark from a SJ scrum, we gained possession of their ball and Tretter passed to flyhalf Marino who passed to fullback Benedett streaking through the line and ran all the way for the first try of her career and day. Con. Missed, 10-0. Both teams were beginning to figure this rugby thing out a bit and one thing was quite clear, SJ did not like the fending off with the hand to the upper part of the body. This could be prevented by tackling lower. At the 17 minute mark, we were awarded two penalties in a row. The second brought us down to six meters out. Veteran #8 Shauna Kuepper took the ball herself and bashed her way into the try zone. Conversion missed, 15-0. At this point in the match the the SJ side appeared frustrated but not flustered. They were becoming mad. SJ made use of some possession, quite a lot of it but could not find their way into our try zone. At the 25 minute mark, a SJ scrum from 10 meters out, their fullback made a great run but was stopped nicely by captain, Jul Marino. A lot of hard hitting for the next six minutes, the referee was trying to keep you girls managed, that was a tough job for him. Our #8 gave a vicious stiff arm that brought the attention of everyone, (the SJ player was shaken up a bit). The referee awarded SJ a penalty five meters from our try zone. Their fullback alertly tapped the ball and scored their only try of the match. Advice: never turn your back to the other team. Had we not, she would have been stopped. Half ends 15-5.

The second half started with us receiving the kick and Shauna running right through them. She was tackled and her support was just not there to regain the ball. At the 40 minute mark, our hooker Anna stole the ball from their scrum, Tretter passed to wing Tiffany Petito who had a nice run down the short side of the field, she was tackled quite hard, she's a tough kid and stayed in the match. We had some line outs that we lost that gave the SJ girls some hope in our end of the field but our girls Imani, Devon, Kim, Melissa and Nicole stopped anyone who tried breaking into our space. At the 50th minute, we were awarded a penalty which Shauna took on her own, she ran was tackled, set a nice ruck, Devon Skinner took the ball to the tackle and scrum half Sam Tretter scooped up the ball and out ran everyone to the corner for her second try of the day, conversion missed 20-5. The match was becoming ours to keep, but you never know for how long. We made some mistakes out there but were tough enough to not let them cost us points. At the 58th minute, Jill Perella found the ball in her hand with a penalty five meters out, she did not score but came real close. Flanker Imani Nero gave great support and almost scored as well. At the 67th minute, SJ had a scrum five meters from their goal line, we steal it and our wing Nikki Pocetti is stopped at the goal line. Another scrum, same place, we steal again and Sam passes to Marino who passed to Allie Grohovsky who passed to Tiffany. Tackle, Sam gathered the ball was tackled, Nicole scooped up the ball and sprinted in for her second try of the day, missed conversion, 25-5. The match was over at this point, the referee Mr. Duffy allowed the match to continue for five more minutes. It was clearly evident to me that the way to tackle a person is low. It is also much safer. We were clearly the dominate tackling team of the day. It is also apparent that the fend with the hand is a good way to protect yourself and deliver a blow to a person who is approaching you in a high tackle stance. Great job girls!

We build on this rugby rules thing this Tuesday and Thursday at seven sharp. There were many whistles blow by the referee and we can and will get this rugby figured out. A little bit at a time.

Scoring: Benedett 2T, Tretter 2T, Kuepper 1T. South Jersey 1T.

We are all very proud of the way you conducted yourselves. They have said that the game of rugby football is a hooligans game played by gentlewomen. How true. See you at training.

Player of the Match:  

Scoring: Kieffer 5T, Sacco 1T, Henry 1T, Wunder 1T, Reed 1T, Gilbert 2C.

______________________________________________________________

vs. Media United   3/28/09 

Player of the Match:

______________________________________________________________  

vs. Blackthorn   4/05/09  

Scoring: Kieffer 2T, Wunder 2T, Heffelfinger 1T, Henry 1T, Rohn 1C.

Players of the Match:

Team: 1. Hovemeyer, 2. Schweikert, 3. Jones, 4. Hicks, 5. Skinner, 6. Wunder, 7. Kuepper, 8. Heffelfinger, 9. Marino, 10. Sacco (c), 11. Henry, 12. Buck, 13. Rohn, 14. Gilbert, 15. Kieffer

Reserves:  16. Bright, 17. Klimowicz

Player of the Match:

______________________________________________________________

vs.   4/19/09  

Player of the Match:

Team: 

Reserves:  

______________________________________________________________

vs.   4/26/09  

Player of the Match:

______________________________________________________________

vs.  5/03/09

Player of the Match:  

______________________________________________________________