Recap of Raptors' ride through WPL playoffs

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Published on Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Written by Glendale Rugby

Raptors win WPL Red Conference

The Glendale Raptors defeated Boston’s Beantown RFC 21-15 in the Women’s Premier League semifinals Nov. 9 at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, Fla.

The first half saw Beantown dominate possession and territory as they had the ball for long periods of time and keep the Raptors on their defensive back foot. Glendale defended strongly to deny Beantown a number of scoring opportunities. In the 22nd minute Beantown was camped in the Raptor end when the Boston fly half converted a drop goal to open the scoring. Six minutes later sustained pressure allowed Beantown to make a midfield break as the Raptors missed a number of tackles on the way to a Boston try and an 8-0 lead.

The Raptors finally began to secure possession of the ball in the last 10 minutes and were rewarded with a converted try by Hannah Stolba to go into halftime down 7-8.

The second half witnessed a renewed Raptor team as they immediately went on attack and were rewarded with a penalty that Stolba quickly converted to give Glendale their first lead of the match 10-8. It was now the Raptors turn to keep the pressure on, as number 8 Taryn Brennan scored a try off a Stolba kick-chase. The Raptors would continue to maintain possession and dominate territory, ultimately resulting in two more Stolba penalty kicks for a 21-8 lead with ten minutes remaining in the match.

Beantown would launch one more productive attack scoring a converted try with five minutes remaining, but it was too little, too late as the Raptors closed out the WPL semifinal 21-15.

Captain Nina Safane was relieved with the outcome saying, “We struggled in the first half but finished strong, which has been our hallmark all season. Hopefully we’ll start stronger against Berkeley in Sunday’s finals.”

All Blues all over Raptors in WPL finals

The Raptors’ successful run through the WPL playoffs came to a crashing halt in the finals as a rampant Berkeley All Blues won the championship with an emphatic 39-5 victory.

Berkeley jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead in the sixth minute on a multiphase attack consisting of forwards picking and charging forward with the ball. Berkley continued the same pattern on their next try, six minutes later, to go up 14-0.

The next 15 minutes witnessed a heated physical contest go back and forth as the Raptors were unable to sustain attack with any consistency as their ball handling and decision making let them down at crucial times. The All Blues finally capitalized on a Raptor infringement with a penalty kick and then a converted try at the halftime whistle, to shut the gate at 24-0.

The Raptors continued to struggle with the pace and aggressiveness of the All Blues resulting in Raptor turnovers and stalled attacking platforms. Berkeley was relentless with the ball in hand and scored two tries and a penalty kick to go up 39-0. The Raptors finally got on the board, averting a shutout, when Brennan scored at the close for a final 39-5 finish.

The Raptors finish as runners-up in their first year in the WPL after winning the Red Conference Championship. According to Coach Bullock, “Despite the setback in the finals the team has had a very successful season and have set a platform for future performance.”