BRUNSWICK, Maine - UNE edged Bowdoin 31-15 in a match between Maine's two varsity women's rugby squads on Friday afternoon at Pickard Field.

The Polar Bears lose their first match of the year and fall to 2-1. UNE moves to 4-1 with the victory

Match Highlights

•  UNE supplied hard running line breaks by center Zoe Adams and the team moved the ball wide to their speed on the wing for two tries in the first half.
• Bowdoin's forward pack dominated the scrums but struggled to maintain possession.  The young team worked hard throughout the match and out-rucked UNE on several occasions, yet aside from some outstanding individual efforts and tackles, they were unable to mount the consistent defensive pressure needed to force mistakes or to effectively launch a multi-phase attack. 
• With UNE up 12 - 0, a midfield scrum early in the first half saw Paige Pfannenstiel peel off the scrum, break through defenders and feed Georgia Bolduc who raced the final 15 meters to score Bowdoin's first try closing the gap at 12 - 5.
• Later in the first half, Pfannenstiel picked up a loose ball from a ruck and ran down the left sideline, shrugging off a tackler and closing in for the try.
• To counter UNE's speed on the wing, Bowdoin adjusted by moving sprinter Georgia Bolduc to the outside backline. Juliette Dankens moved to the scrumhalf position, where she performed very well, distributing the ball, and making several key tackles and clear outs. She scored a smart pick-and-go try of her own off the base of a 5-meter scrum in the second half after a Pamela Zabala scoring attempt was held up. 
• Bowdoin rucked well and maintained more possession during the second half but was unable to capitalize with the exception of Danken's quick, heads-up score.
• Bowdoin was led defensively by Cristina Lima, Liz D'Angelo, Bolduc and Pfannenstiel