Pumpkinfest 2008

This past weekend was my first time at Pumkinfest. After a long drive, made longer by getting lost before we found Pennypack Field (tucked cozily between a river and a jail-slash-mental-hospital), I was ready to kit up, get out on the pitch, and play. The weather was oppressive - Hurricane Tropical Storm Hanna was heavy in the air, and everyone was drenched in sweat just a few minutes into warm-ups.

However, that did not deter the Stingers. Our first match was at 9:00am versus Atlanta, and we were ready for what would be a long, tough game. Though we only played two 20-minute halves, it felt much longer to me as I locked in scrum after scrum after scrum, painfully aware both of how out of shape I am and that Maryland had no second row subs.

When the ball stayed in tight, the match was fairly even, and neither team could create enough of an advantage to score. However, Atlanta clearly had the upper hand on the outside, scoring two tries in each half by capitalizing on their speed and ball-handling skills and our slowness in spreading the defensive line to turn the corner on the wing. With no conversions, the final score stood 20-0 in Atlanta’s favor.

Shortly thereafter, it began raining, and park officials announced they were closing the park at 1:00, effectively canceling the rest of the games for the afternoon. We headed back to the hotel to check in, shower, and relax for a few hours.

The Maryland Stingers, dressed en theme as Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkinfest, met up for team dinner at Lucy’s Hat Shop. Over french fries, quesadillas, chicken fingers, and adult beverages, a great time was had by all.

After finishing off our food and figuring out the tab, most of us headed over to Cavanaugh's Riverdeck for the official social. It was great to see all the teams’ costume themes. Personal favorites were Nova as secret agents, the Raleigh superheroes, and all of Frederick as Rosie the Riveters. Philly handed out glow bracelets freely, and the weather had cleared up enough to open up an outdoor dance floor overlooking the water and the night skyline; however, it had been a long day and it wasn’t long before your humble Pink headed back to the hotel for some much needed sleep.

Sunday dawned beautiful, clear, and breezy – perfect rugby weather. The Stingers kitted up to play New York at 9:40. We played another strong game, improving our defense to put pressure on NY, but despite an excellent performance on our part, the game still ended a lot to nothing in New York’s favor.

We wrapped up the tournament with a consolation match versus a motley side of Rochester and Frederick (some of whom were still sporting their Rosie lipstick from the social!). After prepping against two very tough teams, the Stingers came out strong to set the tone of the game. We kept up a strong defense and were able to put into play an aggressive offense with great support, resulting in several tries. I was overjoyed in the second half to be relieved at lock by my old teammate and American’s current captain, Nips, who capped off her Stinger’s cameo with a try. Final score was 26-7, Stinger’s favor.

Didn’t stay long enough to figure out what the final tournament results were, but I will be sure to post them when I can find them online!