FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Spring season 2019 came to a close for the LIU Post women's rugby team at the Sacred Heart University Sevens Tournament Saturday at Park Avenue Field on a day highlighted by the Pioneers' 19-17 victory over Colby Sawyer College.

Senior Caitlin Johnstone and freshman Calah Turpin led the Pioneers with two tries each while freshman Maqueisha Gillet scored one.
 
Match One - LIU Post 19, Colby Sawyer College 17
Colby Sawyer started the game quickly out the gate and were able to put points on the board in the opening minutes with a try and conversion. LIU Post battled back with key points of maintaining possession; freshman Chanel Lubsey was able to find space after a series of offloads by Johnstone and freshman Brianna Thomas.  A high tackle right before the line awarded the Pioneers a penalty try and conversion tying the score 7-7 to end the first half.  
 
LIU Post put points on the board first as Turpin utilized her stiff arm to ward off the defense and cross the line with a try; Lubsey then completed the conversion to make it 14-7.  CSC quickly rebutted in the next minute but missed the conversion to bring the score to 14-12 but Turpin once again cut through the defense with a quick pick off the back of the ruck to cross the line and make it 19-12. Colby Sawyer scored once more to close the gap, 19-17, but missed the conversion and the Pioneers clinched the win.
 
Match Two – Norwich College 24, LIU Post 7
The Pioneers got off to a strong start with a kickoff by Turpin that forced a Norwich knock-on earning LIU Post early possession. A contact-heavy first half lead to a few possession changes, one of which Norwich capitalized on and was able to break away for the lead 5-0.  Prior to halftime Norwich was able to cross the line again and to bring the score to 10-0.    
 
Penalties proved to be too much for LIU Post in the second half and a high tackle resulted in both a penalty try and conversion as well as a yellow card which left the Pioneers to play down a player.  Despite being short-handed, LIU Post came back with a clean catch off the kickoff and while the Pioneers worked to string a few possessions together, LIU Post was penalized with another penalty that resulted in Norwich splitting the undermanned defense and crossing the line again, widening the gap to 24-0.  
 
The final minutes of the match saw the Pioneers return to full strength. Hard carries by Ogbue earned several crucial meters and sucked the Norwich defense in and beautiful, protective work at the ruck by freshman Cayleigh Kunnmann helped LIU Post maintain possession. The Pioneers then spread the ball wide to Gillet who then produced a ROT (run over twenty) and touched the ball down between the uprights.  Lubsey completed the conversion and the match ended with a 24-7 final.
 
Match Three – Sacred Heart 26, LIU Post 12
The final match of the day was a battle of grit and a testament to the Pioneers' commitment to perseverance.  Sacred Heart was firing on all cylinders utilizing all players on the field and moved the ball quickly into space.  On one such occasion they were able to work to the outside and looked to score but Gillett tracked down their speedster and made the try-saving tackle.
 
Sacred Heart proved their strength was to the outside as they were able to capitalize on the overload and put players scoring over the line two more times.  However, LIU Post refused to give up without a fight. Freshman Sydney Long proved to be a force in the middle of the field earning a ROT and fended off the defense before being brought down inside the 22 with a high tackle and penalty.  Johnstone took the advantage and darted through the defense over the line with the first try of college rugby career, bringing the score 17-5 with one minute left in the half.  The score remained 17-5 heading into halftime after a try-saving tackle by the Pioneers.
 
Sacred Heart continued to play to their strengths in the second half but LIU Post was able to make adjustments at and improved their defensive spread across the field.  SHU was able to put two more tries and conversions on the board but LIU Post had the final try of the match.  With less than a minute remaining LIU Post found themselves at half field with the ball and a series of off loads and support resulted in hard earned meters as LIU Post crept closer to the try line.
 
Finally, the duo of Long and Johnstone proved effective once again as Long made an offload to Johnstone, who was able to score the last try with no time remaining on the clock. Turpin converted the kick bringing the final score to 26-12.