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Harvey’s girls rugby team captured its first-ever league championship Saturday, May 16, first defeating Rye High School 45-0 and then clinching the Metropolitan Girls High School Rugby League title by shutting down Horace Mann 14-0.

In the opening match against Rye, seniors Sophia Collum and Summer Jarbath led the offense with two tries each. Senior Casey Kelly had a big day, scoring a try and getting five conversions. Senior Maeve Lazzaro and ninth grader O’Launi Ebanks chipped in with one try each.

In the second match to determine the champion, the Harvey girls continued to shut down their opponent, notching the 14-0 victory over Horace Mann. Kelly scored both tries and followed each of them up with the two-point conversion.

Coach Shannon Horan was thrilled to see the girls win their first championship. She said, “It was a full circle moment having played our first match of the season at home against a strong Horace Mann side. Although we did beat them that first match, they gave us a great basis to work off and improve from throughout the rest of the season.”

Coach Horan said the girls worked hard to achieve their goal of winning a title. She said: “The effort and commitment our players have shown each and every day has been outstanding, and they all truly deserve the successful finish we had. They took every match in stride and continued to get smarter, stronger, and better both mentally and physically. The wins we had today came as a result of a full team effort.”

With the winning of the championship and in the dominating manner in which they accomplished it, Coach Horan believes the champions have “set the bar high for teams to follow, but they have created a phenomenal team culture that will remain strong after they are gone.”

The Cavaliers finished 13-1 overall and 10-0 in the league.