By Jackie Finlan

Three of the four the Women’s Premier League (WPL) games last weekend produced lopsided scorelines, but one needed all 80 minutes before declaring a victor, and the final minutes were painful ones for Chicago North Shore.

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North Shore was looking for its first win and playing its final home game of the season. The Chicago team led ORSU until the final seconds of the match, but it wasn't enough as ORSU won 26-24 in the fiercest rally that the WPL has seen this fall.

Reflecting on the first half, ORSU head coach Anthony Kolanko indicated that Chicago North Shore was particularly adept at capitalizing on the Jesters’ mistakes and turnovers. Tries from fullback Jessica Ventrillo and Kat Stanley gave the home side a 10-0 lead into the break.

“The focus was to remain calm and focus on the basics,” Kolanko rehashed the halftime chat. “We were forcing things which were leading to unnecessary errors. It took us a while to get there but things clicked just in time.”

Well fought today, but just short of the result we wanted. Thanks to @isuwomensrugby for coming out and playing a second side after the @orsuwomen @wpl.rugby match. It was a day full of loads of good rugby. @ Chicago Blaze Rugby Club

— Chicago North Shore (@northshorerugby) September 24, 2018

ORSU lock Te Awhina Ho Chee scored, and then North Shore answered with two more tries from flanker Brittany Simunac (formerly Klimek) and wing Lauren Ebeling. At minute 65, the home team led 24-7.

“We made a few changes to the lineup with about 15 minutes to go after conceding the fourth try,” Kolanko previewed the turn-around. “It was a bit of a 'go for broke' situation, but the group knew we had to have one last effort at imposing ourselves and raising the tempo, and fair play to them, they produced the goods.”

Jacoby recalled a dramatic uptick in tempo, as ORSU did well to secure its own ball and scrumhalf Kaitlin Sigado moved the ball quickly. The forward crashes swelled, and flanker Paris Hart and prop Adrienne Acosta scored converted tries within minutes of each other, 24-21. And then with little time on the clock, the forwards captain, Ho Chee, broke the defensive line for the final try and go-ahead points, 26-24 to ORSU.

“It doesn't matter what level you play at, or what sport it is you play, to turn the game around in that final 10 minutes showed an enormous amount of character and belief in what we are capable of producing,” Kolanko said. “This was made more impressive by the fact that for the majority of the game we hadn't played the rugby we wanted to.”

The coach couldn’t point to a standout moment or player because, “they really did fight to achieve the outcome as a collective, which in itself is probably more inspiring than just looking at one person who saved the day,” the coach added.

As for North Shore, the loss hurt.

“Last weekend’s game was really tough. Talking with the leadership team, a win doesn’t necessarily mean the score of the game. It’s whether we improved and met the goals we set for ourselves. Last weekend, we certainly did that,” Jacoby said. “People were disappointed in the outcome of the game because everyone executed in their roles and worked together, and we fell short.”

The forwards captain indicated that the team has recommitted itself to its fitness, doing even more outside of practice, so that it can be the fittest team in the league. But Jacoby asserted that the squad’s morale is still high and progress driven.

“One of the best things about North Shore is the culture,” Jacoby said. “Everyone stays very optimistic and positive, even when we do face challenging teams or new challenges or outcomes we don’t want. Everyone still comes to practice ready work, so we can constantly improve as a team and as individuals each week.”

So what's next? Chicago North Shore (0-5) gets the bye week this upcoming round, while ORSU (2-3) hosts Berkeley at home. Both have plenty to play for as the WPL Championship Weekend will be in Marietta, GA in a month.

Event the last-place team in a conference has a shot at moving up to 5th in the league. Maybe it just takes learning some of those lessons.