It's no surprise, after dominating performances in the first 3 Qualifier tournaments, that the Scion Rugby Academy would take the MAC Championship tournament. However, they would have to survive the punishing Virginia heat and get through a feisty NOVA squad, in the finals, to bring home the trophy.
With only four teams fighting for the top two spots (only the top two from MAC get a berth to Nationals), the tournament was an abbreviated one for the women--the teams all played each other and the top two played in the finals.
Scion breezed through pool play, holding their opponents scoreless while tallying a total of 124 points in three games. Just as in past tournaments, the Sirens had possession of the ball for well over half the time, in each of their matches. Relying on their breakdown savvy and offensive scheme, they were able to turnover ball quickly, run their offense smoothly and score often.
Though pool play was a breeze for Scion, the championship match would prove to be the antipode of ease. NOVA came out swinging, and hit Scion with an early score. Their scrappy defense turned the Scion offense sloppy at times, and the Sirens weren’t able to find a rhythm.
However, rhythm or no rhythm, the women of Scion are a versatile and resourceful bunch and were able to out-scrap NOVA. They pounded the ball at NOVA and put up 24, hard-earned points. NOVA was able to claw their way to 12 points and made MAC Championship a bit of a nail-biter.
Both teams will head to the USA 7s National Tournament in Glendale, CO, in a couple of weeks, and both hope to bring back some hardware to the MAC Region.
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