|
(Seattle WRFC only lost one game all season)
By Alex Goff and Jackie Finlan
The Seattle women’s rugby club has made it to the national playoffs, earning a bye to the quarterfinals after finishing second in the new all-West-Coast Competitive Region 1 league.
Seattle coach Tony Maphosa has only been coaching a year after retiring from the men’s team, and while he’s pleased to see the team improve this season, he stresses that he hasn’t changed much except to adjust the game plan toward the team’s strengths.
The biggest thing we do is use our defense as offense,” said Mariphosa. It’s a good thing, because, the coach says, “they like to hit things.”
Seattle’s strength is its forward unit, although the two captains are backs (Rose Baker – who has been playing with her right hand wrapped since the first game - and Mari Thierren).
“Our forwards are our biggest strength,” said Mariphosa, pointing to former Eagle hooker Danielle Miller and No. 8 Tonia Winchester as the leaders. “They’ve played together for so long. They’re mobile, fit and big, and work especially well in the lineouts. It’s where we dominate.”
Seattle faltered just once during the regular season, a week ago against Belmont Shore. That was enough, though, as it meant they finished second behind San Diego (despite besting the Surfers 19-5 September 26).
San Diego has been the best team out of Southern California for the past two years and nothing changed this year except the length of the road trips.
After a shaky start against Tempe they settled down, said president and backs captain Kirsten Hartos. “We won but no one walked away from the match thinking we didn’t have anything to work on. We wanted to improve each weekend. Then we head up to Seattle – we’ve never had to travel that far. This season has been full of new experiences and exposure to new styles of play. It’s a great opportunity. Seattle’s more physical – more than we’re used to. They’re a new opponent with a lot of unknowns. We didn’t adjust well and sat back on our haunches.”
The Surfers rely on their solid front eight, led by Kim McLaughlin, while Marea Blue and Hartos lead the backs.
Hartos said the club had mixed feelings about the new league format, but she said she misses the Premier teams.
“Our performance improves remarkably due to the high-level teams we face,” she said. “If we’re looking ahead and want to build the program – yes, on the one hand, it’s nice to be closer to the top; on the other hand, we can’t learn from the best now that the top eight are out.”
It’s been an adjustment for San Diego, but maybe they will be among that top eight next year. Or maybe it will be Seattle.
“Our goal is to win nationals,” said Seattle’s Mariphosa. “But it’s not just a team goal. The whole club, coaches and players are getting behind the team and doing what it takes to get them there.”
|