Heading into the second half, New York (1-4) trailed Glendale by only four points, but the fourth quarter saw the Raptors pull away for a 43-18 victory and improve to 4-1 in the Women’s Premier League.

Glendale pulls away from NY in second half. (JD Black photo)

The win secured the Raptors’ berth to the top tier of WPL playoffs, joining fellow Red Conference semifinalist Berkeley. Both teams are 4-1; however, the All Blues failed to receive a bonus point in Saturday’s 17-7 win over San Diego and trail by a point in the standings.

Glendale’s bonus point didn’t evolve until midway through the second half, as both sides were stymied by missed connections and turnovers. Play was pretty even for the majority of the match, although New York was able to send Glendale’s scrum in retreat, and the Raptors’ backs pierced New York’s defensive line with more regularity.

“Right now that’s not what our strength is,” Glendale coach Mark Bullock said, pleasantly surprised with his backs’ performance. “Right now it’s in our forwards. Although we weren’t as physical as New York, our forwards have the confidence to pass and catch and tackle, and that’s the kind of style we want to play. Our back play – that’s the big area that we’re developing, so today we played pretty well there.”

At the core of the attack was flyhalf Hannah Stolba.

“Stolba really controlled what we were trying to do in the backs,” Bullock said. “She kicked appropriately when needed, moved the ball into people’s hands and had a couple of nice breaks [and tries] herself. She’s been playing pretty well and growing into the way we want to play as a team.”

Kitt Wagner led the forward strike. She starts the game at hooker then moves to loose forward when substitutions are made. She has a great presence around the field and is the consummate hard worker.

It’s easy to focus on Stolba and Wagner – both are 15s Eagles and big performances are expected out of these players. Although Glendale has experienced unprecedented success in the last couple of years, they haven’t handed over their team to their incoming notables. For instance, replacement hooker Carol Fabrizio and flanker Nina Safane currently captain the squad.

“The major area where we’ve really come along is our ability to play together as a team of 15 – or 23 really, since we ask our subs to come in and make an impact,” Bullock said. “We’re beginning to understand that the game revolves around all of the players – not just one or two national team players. We’re only as good as our weakest player.”

New York was missing some key players. Lock Rosie Meisner, who was slotted for the Eagle tour to Europe, was still sidelined; the potent halfback duo of Blair Station and Mary McCarthy was absent; and Eagle Rebecca Brafman returned to the backline from prop. Even with all the movement, New York was able to come back from a 17-3 deficit to close to 24-18 in the second half. But the constant pummeling up front finally snapped New York, and the influx of Glendale’s bench helped turn the tide.

“We had some fresh legs come in, and the pack said they could feel the difference in the scrum,” Bullock said. “But we also began to consolidate the breakdowns, which allowed the ball to come out quicker and created more opportunities to attack with the weapons we have.”

Glendale looked good, but they weren’t polished. They have one more league game against Berkeley in California to sort out the kinks before playoffs.

“We’ve improved considerably since then,” Glendale coach Mark Bullock reflected on his team’s first week in the WPL. “We’re a work in progress but we’re moving in the right direction in terms of our development as a team and how we play the game. We’re getting a little more confident.”