By: Kyle Relf
HANOVER, N.H. — A sunny Saturday afternoon at Brophy Field was a picturesque setting for a pivotal NIRA tilt, and an even better stage for Dartmouth women's rugby's 12th consecutive win as the Big Green powered through Army West Point before a large crowd.
It was the first time the two programs had met since Dartmouth upended the Black Knights on their home field in the NIRA Championship for a perfect ending to a perfect season. Today, the defending champions flexed their muscle with a 24-15 victory, handing Army West point its first loss of the season.
Anjali Pant led the charge early on with back-to-back tries to open the contest and tries by
Simone Bautista and
Kristin Bitter later held off the Black Knights. Bitter also accounted for two tough-angle conversions.
Pant's first try of the afternoon, and the first of her career, came at the 23:35 mark of the first half, allowing Dartmouth to finally break through after spending several of the opening minutes on the doorstep. Pant received a pitch from
Ava Procter following a scrum and fended off one would-be tackler on her way to the try zone. Bitter's ensuing conversion was good to put Dartmouth ahead 7-0.
Less than 10 minutes later, it was Pant once again to extend the Big Green's early advantage. This time, the junior ran alongside
Sophie Ragg before receiving a pitch just a few meters out for the walk-in try. Bitter was successful once again on the conversion.
In an action-packed conclusion of the first half, Army West Point got on the board with a penalty kick to cut Dartmouth's lead to 11, but Bautista got those points back, and then some, for the Big Green. The freshman delivered a pitch to Bitter, who ran meters shy of the try zone before pitching back to Bautista, who dragged a defender to pay dirt for their first-career score.
Army West Point responded with a try of its own, but the Big Green had the answer thanks to Bitter, who found daylight and darted down the sideline to run the score to 24-8 at the 62:30 mark.
The Black Knights responded with a try and conversion, but full time arrived as Dartmouth successfully held off the comeback bid.
Following the win, the Big Green carry plenty of momentum as they travel to Mount St. Mary's Saturday, Oct. 8. They'll play another on the road before returning to Brophy Field Saturday, Oct. 22 to face Princeton.
FIRST HALF
23:35 – Pant try and Bitter conversion, 7-0
30:00 – Pant try and Bitter conversion, 14-0
40:10 – Bautista try, 19-3
SECOND HALF
62:30 – Bitter try, 24-8
