Match Report: Stanford Women's Rugby - Day 1 of CRAA 7s National Championships

Kuntz Stadium
Indianapolis, Indiana

Semifinals
Stanford 22 vs Claremont 17

The Cardinal welcomed Day 2 of the CRAA 7s Nationals with a semifinal match against Claremont McKenna. After a hard-fought win over Cal Poly in the quarterfinals, the Cardinal were prepared for the increasing challenge of the semifinal match. Claremont kicked off, and scrumhalf Vivian Studdert carried the ball, finding Leila Wang Gaouette for a quick offload. It took two defenders to tackle Wang Gaouette, who offloaded to Kirsten Lees, bursting through the gap left by the defenders. Lees sprinted 60 meters for the opening try.

In the 3rd minute, Claremont beat the Cardinal around the corner for a converted try, taking a 5-7 lead. They followed this with a 70-meter try around the edge, extending their lead to 5-12.

In the final minute of the half, Jara Emtage-Cave chased down the Claremont winger and won the race back to her feet to steal the ball. This fantastic individual effort led to a strong attacking platform where the Cardinal moved the ball through the hands to speedster Journey Washingtonhigh, who ran it in for a 60-meter try, bringing the score to 10-12 at halftime.

The Cardinal found the try line again in the 10th minute after a critical defensive stand forced the Claremont attack backward with strong tackles from Washingtonhigh, Wang Gaouette, and Emtage-Cave. It would be Emtage-Cave who dotted down the try from a meter out following a Claremont yellow card, giving the Cardinal their first lead of the game at 15-12.

In the 11th minute, the Cardinal received a yellow card, sending Sydney Davis off for 2 minutes. Claremont capitalized on the opportunity with another big run around the edge, crossing the try line for a 15-17 lead with only 2 minutes remaining in the semifinal.

The Cardinal knew they had to make good on their final possession, despite being down a player. Emtage-Cave caught the kickoff and offloaded to Zoe Colloredo-Mansfeld, who brought in two defenders to take her down. Critical clear-outs by Lees afforded the Cardinal multi-phase possession. From 50 meters out, Feit spotted an open backfield and booted the ball inside the Claremont 22. The ball was collected by Claremont, but a tackle by Feit and a poach by Studdert drew a penalty. Studdert took a quick tap from 10 meters out, only to get stopped at the line. Colloredo-Mansfeld secured the ruck, and Chisa Ogaki picked up the ball, using her footwork to find open space and diving over the line for the win. Ogaki successfully converted the kick for a 22-17 victory, sending the Cardinal to the 2026 CRAA 7s Final.

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