WEST POINT, N.Y. – Harvard's women's rugby team saw its season come to an end as it fell to Army West Point, 58-21, in the opening round of the inaugural National Collegiate Women's Varsity Rugby Association Championship.
Hope Schwartz, Haley Langan and Genevieve Quirion each notched a try for Harvard, while Susie Clement's was successful on all three of her conversion attempts.
Harvard, the No. 3 seed from the Ivy League, found itself in a hole early against host Army West Point, the No. 2 seed from the Northeast Conference. The Knights scored back-to-back tries just three minutes into the game and poured on two more tries to jump out to a 22-0 lead.
Harvard got on the board following a restart in the 20th minute, as Schwartz crossed the end line and Clements nailed the conversion, cutting the Black Knights' lead to 22-7. Army notched another try right before the half to take a commanding 29-7 lead.
The Knights attack showed no signs of slowing down to open the second half as it scored four-straight tries to hold a 53-7 advantage. Following a pair of scrums and three restarts on the try line, Harvard was able to score as Langan finally touched the ball to the ground and Clement's conversion cuts Army's lead to 53-14.
Harvard's offense stayed hot as Quiron notched another try three minutes later and Clements earned her third conversion of the afternoon, trimming Army's lead to 53-21.
The Knights had the last say as it notched an insurance score as they cruised to a 58-21 victory and advanced to the NCWVRA semifinals. Harvard concludes its fall season with a 4-5 record and went 3-2 in Ivy Conference play.