Rugby Remains Unbeaten With Senior Day Success against Sacred Heart

As families and alumni filed in from across the country to celebrate the Rugby senior class, Harvard (6-0) continued its dominant performance in NIRA play, extending its unbeaten streak with the sixth win of the season.

The visitors, the Sacred Heart Pioneers (2-3), were coming off a three-game loss streak but were looking to cause an upset and turn their season around.

As the game kicked off, the Crimson quickly got off to an offensive start. The team maintained possession high on the field, with the Pioneers keeping gaps narrow in their defense, making Harvard work patiently to open them up.

Senior wing Cameron Fields scored the first points of the game after she received the ball out of a scrum and sidestepped to bypass Sacred Heart defenders. Junior Ava Ferrence scored the conversion, putting Harvard up 7–0, ten minutes into the game.

The Pioneers took the opportunity to live within the Crimson’s half, searching for an chance to respond. The Harvard defense was strong and connected to keep Sacred Heart at bay. It was not until the 25th minute that the Pioneers found a way through for a try, thanks to a moment of brilliance with a grubber penetrating the Crimson defense and levelling the game, 7–7.

Freshman Gemma Ogoke, who achieved her first career hat-trick, opened her account for the day next. She powered through multiple Sacred Heart defenders to again put Harvard ahead, but the Pioneers again quickly closed this gap with a penalty kick to keep them within touching distance of the Crimson, 14–10.

As half-time approached, freshman Maddie Hubbell fended off pressure from Sacred Heart players as she dashed towards the try zone to give Harvard the advantage at the break, 21–10.

As the second half began, it felt like deja vu, with Fields opening up the scoring again. This time, she received the ball in a quick switch of play across the field. A moment of magnificence followed as Fields strided down the line, fending off players as she went, and taking out the corner flag as she got her second try of the game, electrifying the stands as she did so.

Fields recounted how the trust she has in the team and coaches helped her achieve the try.

“For my second try, it was all about trust,” she asid. “I trusted that Vic would be able to make that pass, and then trusting my speed to beat my defender. As the ball was moving across the field, I could hear my coaches telling me to be ready. That gave me the confidence to back myself in that moment.”

The try also gave the Crimson the momentum the team needed to all but seal the win, with Ogoke quickly securing her hat-trick with two more tries. The squad depth of Harvard was on show with yet more players getting on the score sheet. Freshman Sana’a Lunon, who has had a standout first season, weaved through players to get a try of her own.

A lofted pass reached sophomore Dana Greer on the wing, who drove it across the line to push the Crimson to 50 points as the game came to a close. The victory extends Harvard’s unbeaten streak to 6–0 this season.

After the game, coaches, teammates, and loved ones celebrated the 10 seniors who have dedicated time and energy to the team over the past four years and have won two 15s national championships in the process.

“Senior day was super special this year because there are so many seniors to celebrate and we’ve been through so much together, so to get a win and continue our unbeaten streak was super special,” Fields said. “This season has been really fun because of how competitive all of our games have been, so it’s been nice to see how much the game has grown since our freshman year.”

The team will continue to look to add another ring this season. The Crimson next face Princeton on Sunday, 26th October, before heading into the NIRA championship postseason.

– Staff writer Rhiannon Stewart can be reached at rhiannon.stewart@thecrimson.com.