Wisconsin flyhalf Elisa Becker charges through the Amazon defense. Photo by Patrick Barron. View photo album here.
A cold, rainy Halloween afternoon in Minnesota saw Wisconsin hold on to a narrow 13-11 road victory against Midwest Division 2 league opponents, the Twin Cities Amazons.
Both teams played with full rosters and the weather pushed the ball into the forwards more often than not.
Each team defended its try zone well, only allowing the opposition to score on penalty kicks. Tied at 3-3, the match didn’t see a try until the 28th minute of play when Amazons flanker Emilee Burkhalter scored to take a 8-3 lead. The Amazons improved their lead with an additional penalty kick to make it 11-3 heading into halftime.
Both teams used their subs well as the match progressed and it looked like the Amazons might be able to hold off the Wisconsin attack for the match.
Still down 11-3 heading into the final 20 minutes, Wisconsin pulled together its continuity and found a gap in the Amazon defense. Rookie outside center Bree Valenza sailed into the try zone for the team’s first try to improve the score to 11-8 at the 60-minute mark.
Fired up, Wisconsin only needed an additional two minutes to score again as feisty lock Sammy Clevenger notched the team’s much-needed second try and the lead, 13-11.
Wisconsin held off the Amazons for the next 18 minutes to win the match, improve to 6-0 in the league and maintain their undefeated Division 2 record this fall.