Women’s rugby wins first home game
A Fresno State women’s rugby player scores a try against the University of California, Davis, on Jan 28. at the Kinesiology Field. (Marcos Acosta/The Collegian)
Feb 7, 2023
As the final seconds approached, outside center Diana Lopez led the Fresno State women’s rugby team to victory, defeating the University of California, Davis, 20-19, on Jan. 28 at the Kinesiology Field.
Lopez stayed grounded on the field taking on the flanker position, with players out because of injury.
“We [Bulldogs] started with 15 and only had one sub today, so we were trying to conserve energy,” said Fresno State Head Coach Michelle Maldonado.
Kicking off the game to a slow start, the Bulldogs put up a defensive battle, not allowing UC Davis to advance the field.
After a back and forth of turnovers, Fresno State was able to use efficient ball movement to put points up on the board.
“We all hustled and pushed through,” Lopez said.
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For several minutes in the first half, both teams struggled to move offensively down the field, keeping a low scoring game.
Leading by five, with a missed two-point conversion, Davis quickly responded with a try by Aggie, Shareni Donis Orantes along with a successful two-point conversion to close out the half, leading 5-7.
Coming out aggressive early in the second half, Orantes scored her second try with a made two-point conversion.
Although the Aggies scored the first points coming in at half, the Bulldogs stayed aggressive scoring twice back-to-back, giving them the lead.
Fresno State continued to struggle throughout the game on two-point conversions as they missed back-to-back conversion kicks, only allowing the Dogs’ a one point lead of 15-14.
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With UC Davis in striking distance, it was able to secure a successful offensive drive that resulted in a try, once again putting the Aggies up.
After a close game, it came down to the final possession, and it was up to Fresno State’s offense to give themselves a chance to win.
It was the last second of the game when Lopez was tossed the ball and stretched for a try that led the Bulldogs to a win after trailing by four.
“It absolutely felt good but I definitely couldn’t have done it myself, my teammates were definitely there,” Lopez said.
Fresno State Bulldogs will travel north and play against Stanford on Feb. 4 at Steuber Rugby Stadium