EMMITSBURG, Md. — The LIU women's rugby team returned to action Sunday at the inaugural Mount 7s.

Host Mount St. Mary's ran out two sides, while LIU and New Haven rounded out the field.

Conditions in Emmitsburg were cold and blustery — far from ideal for the 7-a-side variation of the game.

The Sharks drew Mount-White first in pool play.

LIU was in fine defensive form from the opening whistle. Defensive dominance soon presented attacking opportunity. Freshman Ryen Scott created turned over possession.

Scott quickly shifted the ball to fellow freshman Sayler Russell, who ran through a host of would-be Mount tacklers on her way to the try zone. 

After the stellar defensive effort, Scott fancied getting in on the attack. She and junior Gina Pollice added tries to the Sharks' tally.

Sophomore Sophia Gaddis tacked on two conversions. The team defense achieved perfection and earned the Sharks a 19-0 victory in Game 1.
 
Next up, the Sharks took on New Haven.

Scott led the way early, scoring all three tries of the first half.

Pollice added three first-half conversions and two second-half tries.

LIU's defense again stood resolute. Its first blemish of the day only came on the final play of the match.

The Sharks defeated the Chargers, 31-5. Freshman Harper Schindler made her LIU rugby debut in the victory.

LIU met Mount-Blue in the final round of pool play. The Sharks found their best challenge of the day. Both teams found the try zone on three occasions. Mount found more success kicking conversions in the conditions and escaped with a narrow, 17-15 victory.
 
In the tournament championship game, LIU squared off with Mount-Blue again.

With a few players banged up in the final pool game, the Sharks looked to new faces to deliver the hardware.

After a period of strong defense for both sides, Russell broke through the Mountaineers' line and delivered the first score of the game.

Mount replied immediately and leveled the affair on the ensuing kickoff. 

The Sharks were somewhat loose with possession in the second half and gifted the Mountaineers extra opportunities in attack. Mount found the try zone two more times to clinch a 19-5 victory.

"We are not content with second-place finishes, but there are heaps of reasons for optimism," coach Joe Rasmus said. "At various times, we showed we are capable of doing everything we need to do to be a top team.
 
"We need to be more consistent throughout a full day of competition. We need to be a bit more adaptive to adverse conditions. We need to value our possession a bit more. But at times we showed we can play a beautiful and expansive game of rugby. I expect we will see a whole lot more of that as the season progresses."

The Sharks have a short week to recover and build before traveling to Harvard for Crimson 7s on Saturday.

Game 1: LIU 19, Mount-White 0 
Points: Pollice (5), Russell (5), Scott (5), Gaddis (4)
Tries: Pollice, Russell, Scott
Conversions: Gaddis (2 from 3) 

Game 2: LIU 31, New Haven 5 
Points: Pollice (16), Scott (15) 
Tries: Scott (3), Pollice (2)
Conversions: Pollice (3 from 3), Gaddis (0 from 2)

Game 3: Mount-Blue 17, LIU 15
Points: Russell (5), Scott (5), Sherman (5) 
Tries: Russell, Scott, Sherman
Conversions: Gaddis (0 from 2), Pollice (0 from 1)

Game 4: Mount-Blue 19, LIU 5 
Points: Russell (5) 
Tries: Russell
Conversions: Gaddis (0 from 1)
 
Tournament: Points For-70, Points Against-41 
Points: Scott (25), Pollice (21), Russell (15), Sherman (5), Gaddis (4) 
Tries: Scott (5), Pollice (3), Russell (3), Sherman (1) 
Conversions: Pollice (3 from 4), Gaddis (2 from 8)