Sacramento Amazons win Pacific Coast Invitational

Just a quick breakdown, I lost my notes on the game so I dont exactly remember the scores and who scored the tries. It was a beautiful weekend in San Jose as the Amazons faced off against Motherlode on Saturday morning. We were short a few players because of Prom (a headache for many a high school rugby coach) but were able to come away with a win. Motherlode was able to score a try against us.

Our 2nd match was against a combined team of Alameda & Davis. It was a great game with a final score of 22-0 in our favor.

Sunday we faced off against The Colorado State Champions, Summit. Our team was back to full force with the players missing on Saturday, our Head Coach, and backline coach rejoining us. It was a great game with Summit capitalizing on penalties against the Amazons but ultimately we got the win 27 - 12.

Our team captain Neni Green was named Tournament MVP.

This weekend we will be in Redding for the Regional Playoffs, the winner of which will go on and represent the Pacific Coast at Nationals in 2 weeks.

Next Up....the 4th Ranked U19 Club in the Nation

With the stunning win against Stanford B over the weekend, the Amazons get a much needed rest this week. They will use the break to prepare for their next encounter with Summit of Colorado on April 25th at San Jose. Summit is coached by former U19 Girls National Team coach Karl Barth. The only time these 2 clubs met was when the Amazons beat Summit for 3rd place at the 2004 National Championships. Summit brings a lot of speed and experience. They are this year's Colorado State Champions and have already qualified as the West's seed for this year's National Championship in Pittsburgh, PA. The Amazons will look to turn up the intensity at training in preparation for this clash of National Powers.

Stanford "B" Falls to Mighty Amazons U19 Team

Amazons - 41
Stanford B- 22

Injuries, spring break, a wedding and Easter weekend could not keep the Amazons from doing what was needed to win against Stanford. Thirteen players were all that the Amazons could produce for this game. With numbers depleted from injuries, the Amazons still hoped to field a strong side against Stanford. However, several players with poor excuses did not show up for the game. This was very frustrating as they abandoned their team mates. Stanford. Was low in numbers as well and both teams played with 13 a side.
The Amazons took the opening kick off and within seconds, Sauliloa Fauolo was able to weave through the defense to score a try. Stanford played an exspansive game, moving the ball often, attempting torun side line to side line. But Stanford's ball handling often let them down. The Amazons did well to play within their game plan. Stanford had no answer for the Amazon's physical play. Centers, Marina and Hine were pivotal on defense coming through with huge tackles. Nana ran in a couple tries. And Neni definitely took MVP honors with her 4 tries.
The Amazons showed great heart. This game was definitely their toughest game of the year. The Amazons showed a lot of guts and played hard. For those players that decided not to play today, they will be dealt with.

Amazons of the Month

The Amzon of the month honors have been bestowed upon Sauliloa Fauolo and Neni Green. April is the first month that we will begin to honor Amazons who have displayed extraordinary feats on or off the field. Selections are made by the coaching staff. Both players were instrumental in leading the Amazons to the NCRFU Championship.

Schedule for Pacific Coast Regional Playoff/ Championship is Set, For Now

The schedule for the Pacific Coast U-19 Regional Playoff/ Championships has been figured out by Pacific Coast Administrators this week. The 2 top teams from Northern California and top 2 teams from Washington will duke it out for the lone Pacific Coast seed in this year's National Championship. The first round of games will be played May 2nd in Redding, CA. The Amazons are the top seed out of Northern CA with Motherlode as the 2nd seed. Kent and Budd Bay are the front runners for the top 2 teams from WA. Motherlode created a stir this week as they proposed to play the tournament on the last week of April in conjunction with the Pacific Coast Invitational Tournament at San Jose State University in California. They preferred this weekend as many of their players are scheduled to take their SATs on May 2nd. Everyone else involved, including the Amazons disagreed with this propsal. WA is scheduled to have their state championship that weekend and all other teams have already made their arrangements to play in Redding on May 2nd. The tournament has been scheduled to accommodate Motherlode by starting the tournament at 4pm rather than the custom morning start time. Motherlode will kick off against the #1 team from WA at 4pm and the Amazons will face the #2 WA team at 5:30. Losers of both games will play the next day at 11am followed by the Championship game. The Amazons feel uneasy with the change of the schedule but will do what's needed to advance.

Amazons take on Stanford

On Saturday, April 11th, the Amazons will be taking on Stanford's 2nd side. This should be a good test for the Amazons as Stanford's 1st side are 4 time Collegiate National Champions. Their second side should bring some much needed competition for the Amazons as they begin their campaign towards the U19 National Championships next month in Pennsylvania. The Amazons won their league championship over the weekend, ending their league season with an overall record of 9 wins and no losses. The Amazons accumulated a total 434 points so far while shutting out every team so far. The shut out streak will be very difficult to keep against the Stanford 2nd side but look for the Amazons to come out ready for the challenge and not afraid to step up to the collegiate level.

The Amazons will be without the services of several key players due to injury but the game should prove to be a test of their depth and overall toughness. Something that the Amazons have tons of.

Amazons Are Champs!!!

Saturday, April 4th, 2009

The Amazons successfully completed their 2009 league season by winning the Northern California RFU U-19 Women's Championship on Saturday. Defeating a combined team of Alameda and Humboldt in the semi-finals and then Motherlode in the Final. Both the Amazons and Motherlode will move on to represent Northern California at the Pacific Coast Championship, May 2nd, 2009.

The format of the tournament called for shortened games as the first round games were 2 twenty minute halves and the Championship round was a two 25 minute halves. With 4 teams in competition, there was no room for error. Davis and Motherlode were the first teams to play. Davis fought the good fight but Motherlode's forwards over whelmed Davis, winning 18 to 5. With the win Motherlode advanced to the Championship round against the winner of the second game.

In the second game, the Amazons took on the combined team of Alameda and Humboldt. The combined team had a difficult time working together and could not contain the powerful Amazons. They attempted to control the game by kicking, but fullback, Sauliloa Fauolo, was deadly in countering with 2 tries. Flanker, Fehi Schaaf scored twice also in securing a 37 to 0 win and a spot in the Championship game against Motherlode.

Motherlode tried using their kicking strategy through out the game thinking that the Amazons would fold under pressure. But Sauliloa and the rest of the wings did a great job on counter attacks making Motherlode regret the strategy. Neni was able to score 2 tries. The final score was 31-0.

The Amazons have been able to hold every team they have played this year to zero points. The Amazons are back to back Nor Cal Champs and they move forward to Regionals hoping to advance to Nationals where they will want to improve on last year's 3rd place finish. The Amazons were all power and all class on this day. The proven best of the best here in Northern California and hopefully soon, the Pacific Coast.

Amazons vs Alameda/ Humboldt
37- 0
Tries- Lata, Fehi (2), Nana, Tolini, Sauliloa (2)
Conv.- Neni (1)

Amazons vs Motherlode
31- 0
Tries- Sauliloa, Neni (2), Marina, Hine (Penalty Try)
Conv.- Neni (3)

National Rankings

Rugby Magazine recently released a new publication called 'High School Rugger.' The new quarterly newsletter is aimed towards covering HS level rugby through out the US. In the 'Rugger's Spring issue they rank the top 10 teams in the Nation. The Amazons were ranked #8 on this list. Although we may not agree with the rankings, the publication itself is a sign that rugby is growing, especially HS rugby. I feel we should be in the top 5 at least. But at least this way, people will look at us as being weak. If that's the case, you should put all your money on this underdog.

1. Divine Savior Holy Angels, WI
2. Kent, WA
3. Catholic Memorial, WI
4. Summit, CO
5. Lakewood, OH
6. Wayzata, MN
7. Douglas County, CO
8. Sacramento Amazons, CA
9. Maryville, TN
10. State College, PA