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New York Beats Beantown in Semi-Final |
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Monday, 23 November 2009 |
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New York faced off against perennial rivals Beantown in the semi-final of the Women’s Premier League National Championship. Having lost both of its regular season matches to Beantown, New York was hoping to have an opportunity to win when it counted most.
The day did not look promising for New York, as the weather was cold and wet, potentially giving the upper hand to Beantown’s sizeable pack. However, New York proved to have the better hands in the first half, and two Beantown penalties converted by Hedwig Aerts put New York up 6-0.
Beantown answered in the second half with two tries, relying on their forward pack to pick-and-go and controlling possession with their trademark rolling maul. However, both tries were scored in the corner and the Beantown flyhalf could not convert, leaving the score at 10-6.
New York turned up the pressure, working the ball away from Beantown’s forwards and making several line breaks. With four minutes left in the game Tyshawn Henry broke through the line and offloaded to Vanesha McGee, the WPL’s leading try-scorer, who beat several Beantown defenders to score under the posts. Hedwig Aerts converted, and New York went ahead 13-10.
New York weathered a frantic Beantown defense off the kickoff and wound down the clock, kicking the ball out as time expired, and moving on to the WPL final to face Berkeley in a re-match of last year’s championship game. |
