Harvard Women's Rugby Wins Ivy League Title Against Dartmouth After Last-Minute Try

On Saturday, Harvard traveled to New Hampshire for one of the biggest rivalries in college women's rugby: the Crimson vs the Big Green. Both teams came into the game unbeaten, with Harvard 4-0 and Dartmouth 3-0 this season. A rematch of last year's national championship game in which Harvard came out on top 19-12, the fixture always promises a nail-biting game.

Harvard grabbed the reins of the game early in the first half. It took only two minutes for the team to get off the mark. Freshman Gemma Ogoke broke free towards the try line, fending off multiple defenders with a powerful drive to put Harvard ahead 5-0.

Harvard continued to look lively. A high-tempo offensive play saw Harvard continue to take territory with junior Maya Hilger contributing the final few yards to get the second try of the game. Senior Skylar Jordan scored the conversion and continued to open the gap, 12-0.

As Harvard continued to dominate, a scrum in its own half set up the next opportunity for points on the board. Senior Tiahna Padilla dashed out, breaking away from the Dartmouth pack to put Harvard within 5 meters of the try line, leaving Jordan to put it over the line, 17-0.

With 20 minutes to go in the first half, all the momentum was with Harvard, but Dartmouth began to show threatening moments. Multiple knock-ons from Harvard gave the Big Green territory. In the 26th minute, after high pressure, Dartmouth managed to put 7 points on the board.

This first try sparked a fire in Dartmouth, and its team continued to push Harvard to defensive limits in the final minutes of the first half. Their efforts paid off with them turning around their first half fortunes and securing 2 more tries to put them ahead going into halftime, 21-17.

As the second half opened up, the cagey battle continued between the two teams, with it taking over 15 minutes for either side to open up their account for the half. The hosts' continued pressure meant they were able to strike through the Harvard defense and strengthen their lead to 28-17.

Harvard resilience was on show, however, as it responded quickly with clean possession play, leading to Harvard forwards with the ball within inches of the try line. It was Ogoke again who had the finishing hand in getting Harvard’s fourth try of the game, narrowing the deficit to 24-28.

The game continued to go back and forth with Dartmouth getting a try of their own within minutes, again pushing them ahead to 33-24.

With 15 minutes left on the timer, Harvard was not ready to give up. Senior Lennox London was patient on the wing and received the ball off Hilger. London’s desire saw her dive for the corner and keep her team in the game, putting them just 4 points behind Dartmouth.

With 10 minutes to go, Harvard continued to try to find vulnerabilities in the Dartmouth defense and find a winner, but the clock continued to tick down. The clock hit zero, but Harvard still had possession, so the game continued with the team on their last chance to capture the game.

Intelligent and patient play demonstrated Harvard's experience. Despite Dartmouth finding a way to push them back to the halfway line, Padilla found a gap and streaked through, beating two defenders and offloading the ball to freshman Sophie Hayes mid tackle. Hayes made the final 10 yards and touched the ball down to win the Crimson game. Jordan confidently placed the conversion to finish the game 36-33 and claim the 2025 15s Ivy League title.

The Crimson will now look forward to their next fixture when they take on Sacred Heart back at Mignone Field on Senior Day, on Saturday, October 11th.

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