The final rugby weekend of the fall saw Wisconsin travel again to Minnesota for the team’s last match of the season.
It was a tale of two halves against the Minneapolis Menagerie, but Wisconsin used a strong second half to rally for a 26-17 win.
The Menagerie disrupted Wisconsin’s gameplay throughout most of the first half. Wisconsin failed to put points on the scoreboard until the 33rd minute as the Menagerie held a 10-0 lead, thanks to a penalyy kick, a try, and the ensuing conversion. Wisconsin’s offense finally broke through the Menagerie defense to send inside center Bree Valenza into the try zone. Flyhalf Elisa Becker successfully converted the kick.
Minneapolis rallied in the final minute of the half again to increase their lead to 17-7 with another try and conversion though.
A renewed and reinvigorated Wisconsin team returned to the pitch for the second half. The statistics would only see Wisconsin from that point forward.
Wisconsin No. 8 Grace Hovde and wing Felicia Carlson both scored to help their team. Becker’s successful conversions allowed Wisconsin to finally take control of the match lead by the 53rd minute, 19-17.
Wing Justine Wypych sunk the final nail in the coffin for any hopes of the Menagerie. The speedster scored Wisconsin’s final try at the 70-minute mark and Becker notched a final conversion for the 26-17 victory.
Wisconsin ends the season with seven wins and zero losses in Division 2 league play after this fall. The team now takes the winter off for training before returning to league play with a final match in April against the Milwaukee Scylla. With the team record, Wisconsin is first overall in the Midwest West 2 league and has qualified for playoffs.