West Chester, Pa. – Navy women's rugby (2-1) responded in a big way to last week's loss, defeating the West Chester Golden Rams (1-1) by a final score of 20-10.
 
"It was a well-played match as usual when going up against West Chester. They're a disciplined squad and well coached," said head coach Murph McCarthy. "That penalty kick with about four minutes to play by Nicole Deprey sealed the deal for us but it was a closer match than the score indicates. Our defense today was outstanding. Every meter West Chester earned today they had to fight for and we paid the same price when we had the ball. We capitalized on a few of their mistakes early and that was the difference."
 
Navy had a much faster start in West Chester. Sage McCallum got Navy on the board with a try in the 8^th minute, and a conversion kick from Nicole Deprey gave Navy an early 7-0 advantage. Marissa Meyer gave Navy its second try of the half in the 32^nd minute to give the Mids a 12-0 lead. A yellow card on West Chester officially ended the first half with Navy up by 12.
 
The halftime break didn't stop Navy's momentum. Ana Olszewski gave Navy a big score with a try just a minute and 30 seconds into the second half to give Navy a 17-0 lead. West Chester's defense managed to settle in and eventually got the offense going as well to get back in the game. The Golden Rams scored tries in the 55^th and 69^th minute to all of a sudden make it a one-score game with ten minutes remaining.
 
Navy managed to keep the ball in West Chester territory and got rewarded a penalty kick in the 76^th minute. Deprey managed to put it through to put Navy up by two scores and get the Mids back in the win column. It was a big victory for Navy, who won its first match over West Chester since 2013, took a 3-2 advantage in the all-time series and avenged a 31-30 loss they suffered to West Chester last season.
 
Navy ended with four players scoring five points each. McCallum scored her first try of the season, while Meyer scored her second. Olszewski's try gives her three this season for a team-leading 15 points. Deprey made her first penalty kick and her third conversion kick to bring her point total to 14.
 
Navy will be back in West Chester, Pa., again next Sunday, Oct. 2 for a neutral site contest versus New Haven. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. EST.
 
Box Score
8:53 – Navy – Try – Sage McCallum (5-0)
Conversion Kick – Nicole Deprey (7-0)
 
32:12 – Navy – Try – Marissa Meyer (12-0)

41:30 – Navy – Try – Ana Olszewski (17-0)
 
55:10 – West Chester – Try (17-5)
 
69:50 – West Chester – Try (17-10)
 
76:35 – Navy – Penalty Kick – Nicole Deprey (20-10)