ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's rugby team (2-4, 1-4) nearly pulled off another second-half comeback, but fell short in its, 14-11, loss to Sacred Heart (4-1, 4-1) on Saturday at the Prusmack Rugby Center in Annapolis, Md.
 
"Hats off to Sacred Heart, they're a good team. They're 4-1 now this season and they play like it," said head coach Murph McCarthy. "I couldn't be more proud of the way our team played today. We were so close to pulling this one out and it shows that we're getting better each week. I wish we would have come out on top, but there's a lot to build on."
 
An injury early into the match set up a scrum for the Pioneers at the 10-meter line in their defensive zone. Sacred Heart attacked to the right after winning the scrum and advanced the ball to its offensive 10-meter line. An intentional knock-on penalty against the Mids gifted the Pioneers a tap-and-go to push the ball inside the 22-meter zone. Sacred Heart worked the ball back to the left and broke through Navy's defense to score a try from 15-meters out in the third minute. The Pioneers took a 7-0 lead with the made conversion kick.
 
A knock-on penalty against the Pioneers in the sixth minute gifted the Mids a scrum right at their offensive 22-meter line. Siena Hall gained Navy ground with a strong effort to plunge the ball into the 22-meter zone. The Pioneers were issued a defensive penalty during a breakdown and the Mids chose to attempt a penalty kick. Abby Hershner nailed the kick from 19 meters to make the score, 7-3.
 
Navy was issued a knock-on penalty during its next possession to grant Sacred Heart a scrum in its offensive 22-meter zone. The Mids overpowered the Pioneers on the scrum and stole the ball away. Navy forced the ball back to midfield with its kicking game. The Pioneers couldn't gain any ground attacking the middle of the pitch and chose to attack down the right sideline. The move worked out for Sacred Heart at first after a pair of offloads drove the ball inside the 22-meter zone. Navy used the sideline to its advantage and tackled the ball carrier out of bounds to regain possession just before the 14th minute.
 
The Mids earned a scrum at their offensive 22-meter line in the 27th minute after the Pioneers were issued a penalty for their lineout throw-in attempt not being straight. Navy had a chance to gain a big chunk of territory with an attack to the right sideline, but a knock-on penalty returned the ball to the Pioneers.
 
Both clubs struggled to maintain possession due to penalties and turnovers over the next eight minutes. The costliest penalty of the sequence was against Sacred Heart at its defensive 10-meter line to grant Navy a free kick. Lilliana Gemma's kick didn't go out of bounds, but the Pioneers dropped the ball attempting to catch the kick for a knock-on. The play awarded the Mids a scrum at their five-meter line. Navy touched the ball down in the try zone on its attack, but the official ruled that Sacred Heart held up the ball. The Mids remained in possession due to having a penalty advantage. The Pioneers were called for a penalty on the ensuing scrum and also went down a player after the official charged them with a yellow card. Despite having one less player, Sacred Heart kept Navy out of the try zone by stealing the ball during a breakdown. The Pioneers kicked the ball out of bounds to end the half to take away a huge scoring chance for the Mids.
 
Navy started with the ball to begin the second half and began to establish a rhythm with short passes to move up the pitch. A bad pass went right into the hands of a Sacred Heart defender for a costly turnover. The Pioneers took advantage of the mistake by scoring a try just 1:20 into the second half. A made conversion kick by Sacred Heart extended its lead to 14-3.
 
The Mids were awarded a free kick in their offensive zone shortly after the kickoff. Gemma sent the attempt out of bounds midway between the five and 22-meter line for a lineout. Navy won the lineout and powerful carries from Maggie Geiger and Sydney Boutz moved the ball within one meter of the try line. The Mids couldn't punch the ball in from close range and decided to attack to the right. The backward pass allowed the Pioneers to push the line back behind the five-meter line.
 
Charlotte d'Halluin tried to send a grubber kick into the try zone, but it was blocked by Sacred Heart. As a Pioneer defender picked up the ball, she ran into her defensive try zone and downed the ball. The official signaled she held possession outside of the try zone before downing the ball and was issued a penalty to award Navy a scrum at the five-meter line. Hershner picked up the ball out of the scrum and carried two defenders into the try zone with her for a score in the 48th minute. Hershner missed a vital conversion kick after the try to keep the score at 14-8.
 
The Mids set up a lineout in the 54th minute in their offensive zone. Navy controlled the lineout, but Sacred Heart stripped the ball away to regain possession. The Pioneers attacked the right sideline and the ball carrier had a ton of open space in front of her. However, the referee called a forward pass during the attack to gift Navy a scrum at midfield. Sacred Heart was called offsides on the scrum and it allowed Gemma to attempt a free kick. She drilled a line-drive kick over 40 meters perfectly out of bounds for a lineout at the five-meter line. The Mids quickly attacked out of the lineout, but committed a knock-on penalty. Navy responded by ripping the ball out during Sacred Heart's attack. A Mid dove across the try line after picking up the ball, but the Pioneers held up the ball before she could touch it down to negate the score.
 
Sacred Heart kicked the ball back outside the 22-meter zone with its goal line dropout. d'Halluin and Boutz charged the Mids back into the 22-meter zone. The Pioneers were then called offsides to allow Hershner to attempt another penalty kick. She booted the ball over the crossbar in the 58th minute to bring Navy within three points.
 
Gemma had an opportunity to set up the Mids with a short field with a free kick in the 66th minute. She kicked the ball down to the five-meter line, but failed to kick it out of bounds. Sacred Heart kicked the ball back to the 10-meter line. Megan Leitz then launched a kick down to the five-meter line and Mia Young outran the Pioneers to have an opportunity to recover the kick. Just as Young picked up the ball, a Sacred Heart defender came from behind and jarred the ball loose with her hit. The ball traveled forward and Young was issued a knock-on penalty.
 
The Pioneers only pushed the Mids back to the 22-meter line with their clearing kick. Sacred Heart was penalized for not releasing during Navy's attack to grant Hershner a penalty kick. Hershner had plenty of leg on the attempt from the 22-meter line, but the ball sailed left of the upright to allow the Pioneers to maintain a three-point lead.
 
Sacred Heart pushed the ball back to midfield, but it lost a player after the official gave a yellow card because of a high tackle. The penalty awarded Navy a free kick and Gemma sent the ball out of bounds just outside the 22-meter zone for a lineout. The Mids won the lineout, but the ball bounced backward on a bad pass. The Pioneers fell on the loose ball to establish possession. Sacred Heart then flipped the field with a 30-meter carry to drive the ball just outside its offensive 22-meter zone. The Pioneers prevented the Mids from getting back into scoring position for the remainder of the contest to claim the victory.
 
Hershner made her ninth and 10th penalty kicks and scored her first try of the season in the loss. The senior increased her point total to 39 points this fall. 
 
Navy faces in-state rival Mount St. Mary's next Sunday for its final home contest of the fall season. The match will kickoff at noon at the Prusmack Rugby Center in Annapolis, Md.
 
Box Score
First Half
3:30 - Try - Sacred Heart (0-5)
Conversion Kick - Sacred Heart (0-7)
 
7:35 - Penalty Kick - Navy - Abby Hershner (3-7)
 
Second Half
41:20 - Try - Sacred Heart (3-12)
Conversion Kick - Sacred Heart (3-14)
 
48:50 - Try - Navy - Abby Hershner (8-14)
 
58:55 - Penalty Kick - Navy - Abby Hershner (11-14)