Boston Banshees Batter Chicago Tempest

Banshees flanker Gen Quirion off-loads to captain Jenny Kronish. Photo by Greg Sabin of gregsabinphotography.com.

Pawtucket, RI– A hat trick from Katie Lohaus and ten points of conversions by Rachael Harkavy helped power the Boston Banshees to their second consecutive 49 point game.

The Banshees earned an important five points in the Women’s Elite Rugby standings on May 17 with the 49-12 victory over the Chicago Tempest. In front of the home fans at Centreville Bank Stadium, they scored seven tries and completed all seven conversions in the rout.

“We came into the game really ready and really set in our system and how we wanted to play,” said Banshees fly-half Rachael Harkavy. “We did a lot of scenario building and phase play in practice this week. So we kind of knew what we wanted those first 40 minutes to look like. And I think we went out there and executed.”

The first half of the game suffered from several brief stoppages due to injury as well as spitting rain, but the Banshees fared better in the dour weather conditions than the more climatically-inclined Tempest. The home team registered 42 points in the first 40 alone, with Caitlin Weigel and Katie Lohaus each scoring two tries and Harkavy completing five conversion kicks. Weigel and Lohaus both scored a try with the player advantage after a yellow card to Chicago’s Nicole Fisch in the 35th minute.

The second half of the match was a different story. While the first 40 saw the Banshees eating up ground and collapsing the Tempest’s defensive structure, the home team was outscored in the second half. Chicago earned 12 points in the final 40, with Nicole Fisch redeeming herself for her yellow card by scoring a try and kicking a conversion.

Tempest tighthead prop Keke Jordan was proud of the changes her team made in the second half. “I feel like we actually had a genuine connection that second half and made sure to talk to each other, made sure to ask, ‘hey, what do you need from me?’… And just kind of reiterating that trust for one another.”

Harkavy also noted the difference in the visitors’ play in the last 40 minutes. “Credit to Chicago, they stepped up the pressure in the second half,” she said after the game. “We had to play a lot more defense and it’s much harder to play attack when you’re tired from playing defense… We had to be physical.”

Banshees center Amanda Schweitzer left the game early in the first half with an injury to her leg. Schweitzer, who also plays fly-half, completed six out of six conversion kicks in the Banshees’ previous game against the Bay Breakers, but Harkavy stepped into the role flawlessly, going five for five on home turf. Abby Savin also had to leave the game for the remainder of the first half, but came back in for the second.

Banshees head coach Kitt Ruiz was confident in her team’s ability to adhere to their structure and play their game despite the injuries they faced:

“We have the depth that we’re able to slot other people in and really work everybody in. In different positions too, which was nice, because then it gives them the opportunity to have that comfort, so if something like that happens they can play anywhere.”

The Banshees have been shoring up that depth by signing new players coming out of college. The game against the Tempest saw the debuts of Cassie Depner and PK Vincze out of Dartmouth and Harvard, respectively. Harkavy was excited for the energy that the new players have brought to the team:

“They’re so fit from playing sevens all year that they’re just absolute workhorses. And sometimes there’s a little bit of a physicality jump coming into the women’s game from college, but all three of them and everyone really that has come out of the college has been more than prepared to kind of make that jump.”

At the same time, the Banshees have been making careful decisions about when and how to insert new signings to the lineup.

“I actually mixed things up,” Coach Ruiz said about the gameday roster against the Tempest. “Deciding what makes the most sense, who is available next weekend, who’s not and what does that look like for getting rest for some people or just saying, no, you’ve got to push through, we need you right now. Those are the decisions that I had to make… because this isn’t just a one game season, right? We’ve got 10 games and hopefully a championship and so there’s just lots of things to think about as I’m going into selections.”

The Chicago Tempest are facing a different set of questions. As the last-place team with zero wins on the season, they have been mathematically eliminated from championship contention, and their head coach stepped down following a shutout loss to the Denver Onyx in late April. But, as acting head coach Kristin “Hammer” Zdanczewicz says, “like a late dinner guest, we might just… make the dinner party more interesting.”

The Tempest have not written off the remainder of the season. When Coach Hammer, as her players call her, stepped into her new role at the end of April, she earned the appreciation of the Tempest players. 

“Hammer is a great motivator,” said Keke Jordan. “The things that she says, that she needs from us, is very clear. We’re not reading between the lines, so it was like a breath of fresh air, having that… She didn’t come in and kind of change our whole thing. She left things as they were and just tweaked little certain things. Like, let’s add this, let’s add that. And I feel like the team took that very well.”

“The main thing that I came in and talked about with the team was about connection, communication, and we’re working on consistency,” Coach Hammer explained post-game. “So we’ve been able to play 40 minute halves. Now… what is that going to look like for us at the 70th minute, in an 80th minute? How do we put a full game together versus just one good half versus the next?… We’re working hard. You can see that and you can see how the team communicates and how they are connected… Everybody’s bought in and we’re all looking to continue to move forward together and give everybody a good hard fight.”

Jordan was positive about the progress the team has made in their intangibles. “The biggest thing is us trusting each other as a team and trusting that, trusting our coaches. And I feel like that went on today. And when she says that we are an 80-minute team, we need to take that and believe that.”

Near the top of the standings, the Banshees have different goals in mind.

“Our eyes have been on the prize all season,” said Harkavy. “Every game is a must win for us. We knew that last week going into Berkeley. We knew that this week coming into Chicago… We’re going into every game, like we’re fighting and clawing our way in because there are some really good teams out there that are kind of nipping at our heels.”

The Banshees will face the league-leading Denver Onyx at Infinity Park in Denver on May 24 at 1pm MDT, 3pm EST.

Final score: Boston Banshees 49 – Chicago Tempest 12

Boston Banshees
Tries: Dunn 12’, Weigel (20’, 39’), Lohaus (26’, 37’, 64’), Armatage 27’
Conversions: Schweitzer 13’, Harkavy (21’, 26’, 28’, 37’, 40’), Vincze 64’

Chicago Tempest
Tries: Fisch 58’, Bailous 70’
Conversions: Fisch 59’