Scoring Summary

BIDDEFORD, Maine – Mackenzie Burke and Liz Cogan each had four tries as the #2 University of New England women's rugby team rolled past #3 Norwich University in the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) Division III Semifinals on Saturday at Blue Storm Stadium.
 
The Nor'easters advance to the NIRA Championship for the third consecutive season where they will play #1 Bowdoin for the third time. Bowdoin advanced the championship with a 57-8 victory over #4 Castleton.
 
Burke and Cogan scored eight of the first nine tries for UNE and helped put the hosts in front 14-0 by the 9^th minute. The Cadets hung close early and answered with tries by Assumptha Nandawula and Carlyan Vigbedor to trim the deficit to 14-10 at the 15^th minute.
 
UNE took control from there and scored the next three tries. Cogan made it 21-10 Nor'easters in the 21^st minute. Burke and Cogan each scored three minutes apart to extend the advantage to 35-10. Caitlyn Burke added a try in the final seconds of the first half to make the score 35-15 at the half.
 
Salma Bezzat was terrific on conversion kicks, making all five attempts in the first half and finishing 10-of-11 on the day.
 
After a try each by Burke and Cogan, Olivia Mitchell scored for the Nor'easters in the 56^th minute to make the score 56-15. Norwich closed the gap with tries by Kate Desautels and Emily Ngo to trim the deficit to 61-27 in the 70^th minute. Kati Whitcomb and Elizabeth Goodrich added the final points for UNE.