Already, the Cadets had knocked the team out of contention for nationals a year prior and were positioned to continue its run of recent successes against the Radcliffe squad.

But for a team that’s battled through incomplete rosters, a division change, and a lack of exposure, a two-point deficit 7-5 didn’t seem like a whole lot to overcome.

In the game’s final 20 minutes, Radcliffe mounted a dramatic comeback, scoring 17 unanswered points to surge past Norwich and earn the lopsided victory, 22-7. For the underdog squad, months of hard work had finally come to fruition.

“We had been training all winter and all last fall to be able to beat [Norwich],” sophomore scrumhalf Kellie Desrochers said. “Beating them to go on to the Final Four was special.”

The combined efforts of Desrochers and Hoese were big for Radcliffe in its win over Norwich, and both will play an instrumental role in determining the team’s success for the in the rest of the tournament.

“[Hoese and I] have to work together a lot,” Desrochers said. “The connection between the flyhalf and the scrumhalf has to be spot-on every time in order for us to get our offense going.”

While Desrochers and Hoese have developed a bond because of their respective positions, others on the team say that the entire squad has become a tight-knit unit.

“We really work together as a family,” Hoese said. “We hang out a lot outside of rugby and we appreciate everyone on the team, whether they just joined or have been playing for four years.”

Radcliffe faces Western Washington University this weekend at Founders Field in Pittsburgh, Pa. Once again, the team will play the role of underdog going into the semifinals.

“We’ve made it this far,” Verlage said. “We’re extremely confident and ready to win the whole thing.”

—Staff writer Dominic Martinez can be reached at dmartinez@college.harvard.edu.