Dartmouth delivered its highest-scoring performance of the season, Sacred Heart shut out Davenport, Frostburg State came from behind to beat Bowdoin and West Chester broke through for its first victory of 2026 during a busy weekend of National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) women’s rugby on October 3–4.
The weekend featured games across NIRA’s divisions as well as non-conference matchups involving NIRA programs, producing everything from runaway victories to one-score finishes.
Dartmouth rolled past AIC 57–19, Frostburg State edged Bowdoin 20–17 and Sacred Heart blanked Davenport 38–0. Navy survived a sustained challenge from La Salle, West Chester picked up its first win of the season, and the University of New England defeated Colby.
Sunday’s action at Emory & Henry added three more games, with the Wasps finishing Senior Day with two wins from three.
Dartmouth 57–19 AIC
Dartmouth returned to the win column at Brophy Field, defeating American International College 57–19 behind four tries from Marley Larkin.
The Big Green entered the weekend 1–2 after beating Army in its opener and then losing consecutive games to Life University and Harvard. AIC arrived unbeaten at 1–0.
Vanessa Ortiz-Pallen opened the scoring for Dartmouth before AIC answered to cut the lead to 7–5.
From there, Dartmouth began to take control.
Larkin scored twice to push the Big Green ahead 21–5. AIC answered with a converted try, but Dartmouth struck twice around the 40-minute mark through Annie Henrich and Larkin, whose third try helped send Dartmouth into the break with a 33–12 advantage.
Henrich scored again after halftime before Larkin crossed for her fourth try. Jordynn LeBeau added another Dartmouth score, and Ortiz-Pallen completed the scoring with her second try.
Henrich finished with 22 points, scoring two tries and kicking six conversions.
The victory moved Dartmouth to 2–2 and handed AIC its first defeat of the season. It was Dartmouth’s third consecutive victory over the Yellow Jackets, while the Big Green remained perfect in the series at home, winning all four meetings with AIC in Hanover.
Sacred Heart 38–0 Davenport
Sacred Heart followed its 69–7 victory over Queens with another impressive performance, shutting out Davenport 38–0 at Park Avenue Field.
Lily Perez opened the scoring in the seventh minute before Delilah Staberg crossed in the 17th. Hayley Galbraith’s conversion made it 12–0.
Sam Melvin added another converted try before Marley Gurmendi crossed in the 35th minute, sending Sacred Heart into halftime with a 26–0 lead.
Davenport held Sacred Heart scoreless for most of the second half but was unable to find a way through the Pioneers’ defense.
Perez eventually crossed for her second try in the 79th minute and completed her hat trick in the final minute. Kiera Thorne added the final conversion to complete the 38–0 victory.
Perez finished with three tries, while Staberg, Melvin and Gurmendi each scored once.
After opening the season with losses to Harvard and Army, Sacred Heart has responded with consecutive victories over Queens and Davenport, outscoring those opponents 107–7.
Frostburg State 20–17 Bowdoin
One of the closest games of the weekend came at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, where Frostburg State rallied from a seven-point second-half deficit to defeat Bowdoin 20–17.
Bowdoin opened the scoring in the ninth minute when Maddy Kosmoski crossed and Ellie Carter converted.
Frostburg answered three minutes later, but Sachi Mehra’s try and another Carter conversion stretched Bowdoin’s advantage to 14–5.
A Frostburg try just before halftime reduced the deficit to 14–10.
Carter then kicked a penalty three minutes into the second half to give Bowdoin a 17–10 lead.
Those would be the Polar Bears’ final points.
Frostburg scored six minutes later to pull within 17–15 before crossing for the go-ahead try with 15 minutes remaining.
Bowdoin had led from the ninth minute, but Frostburg protected its three-point advantage down the stretch to secure the 20–17 victory.
Navy 50–30 La Salle
The final score does not tell the full story of Navy’s trip to La Salle.
The Explorers led on three separate occasions and were within six points with just over 10 minutes remaining before Navy pulled away for a 50–30 victory.
Bailey Borum-Gray gave La Salle an early 5–0 advantage. Navy responded with a try and penalty to move ahead 8–5 before Kaylie Castro scored and Jocelyn Terry converted to restore La Salle’s lead at 12–8.
Navy went into halftime ahead 15–12, but Castro’s second try put the Explorers back in front for a third time, 17–15, early in the second half.
Navy answered with a converted try before Terry’s penalty reduced the margin to 22–20.
Two more converted Navy tries stretched the lead to 36–20, but La Salle fought back again.
Borum-Gray scored her second try and Alyssa Williams followed with another, cutting Navy’s advantage to 36–30 with just over 10 minutes remaining.
The Midshipmen finally put the contest away with two converted tries in the closing stages, ending La Salle’s three-match winning streak.
Borum-Gray and Castro each scored twice for La Salle, with Williams adding the Explorers’ fifth try. Navy’s individual scorers were not available at publication time.
West Chester 43–14 Mount St. Mary’s
West Chester entered Saturday still searching for its first victory of the season.
The Golden Rams found it with a 43–14 victory over Mount St. Mary’s at the South Campus Rugby Pitch.
West Chester took control during the opening half and carried a 36–0 lead into halftime. The Golden Rams eventually stretched the advantage to 43–0 before Mount St. Mary’s scored twice late.
Addy LaCarubba scored twice for West Chester, while Christelle Adikpeto and Ashlyn Wissler were among the Golden Rams’ try scorers.
For Mount St. Mary’s, Neely Denlinger scored both tries and Shaniah Mayers converted both.
The result moved West Chester to 1–3 and delivered its first victory of 2026 after losses to Davenport, Princeton and Bowdoin.
University of New England 25–7 Colby
The University of New England recorded a 25–7 victory over Colby as part of the weekend’s NIRA action.
With a detailed official match report not available at publication time, Rugby Fan Central is reporting the final score without adding unverified scoring details.
Emory & Henry Finishes 2–1 on Senior Day
Sunday’s action centered on the Emory & Henry Tournament, which also involved Queens, Guilford and Warren Wilson.
Queens opened the day by defeating Emory & Henry 24–7.
The Wasps responded with a 19–12 victory over Guilford before closing the event with a 32–0 shutout of Warren Wilson.
That left Emory & Henry with two victories from its three Senior Day games.
Sunday Results
Queens 24–7 Emory & Henry
Emory & Henry 19–12 Guilford
Emory & Henry 32–0 Warren Wilson
By the Numbers
A Weekend of Responses
Several of the weekend’s results were defined by how teams answered difficult moments.
Dartmouth entered Saturday on a two-match losing streak before producing its highest points total of the season against AIC.
Frostburg State found itself seven points behind Bowdoin early in the second half, then scored the game’s final 10 points to turn a 17–10 deficit into a 20–17 victory.
Sacred Heart began the season with losses to Harvard and Army but has responded with back-to-back wins over Queens and Davenport, outscoring those opponents 107–7.
West Chester’s breakthrough came a week after the Golden Rams had seen a late lead disappear in an 18–17 loss at Bowdoin. Against Mount St. Mary’s, the result was never in doubt after West Chester built a 36–0 halftime lead.
The next NIRA weekend brings another test for Dartmouth, which travels to Princeton on Saturday, October 10. After rediscovering its attack against AIC, the Big Green will have an immediate opportunity to build on the performance on the road.
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