The women’s rugby team played its first-ever varsity contest last night against Quinnipiac. Despite a rowdy crowd that attended the inaugural match, the Crimson fell to the Bobcats, 39-10. Captain Xanni Brown and junior winger Anibiet Abasi chipped in Harvard’s pair of scores.

Under the bright lights of Cumnock Field, the Harvard women’s rugby team took the field Tuesday night for its first-ever game as a varsity squad.

“It was emotional,” Crimson coach Sue Parker said. “It was emotional for us coaches, too. We’ve been waiting for the varsity opportunity to come along, and to have it happen with these incredible women at a school like this really made it something special. There was a lot of emotion in the locker room ahead of time. They were able to focus it and bring it to the field.”

Droves of Crimson fans filled the bleachers as Harvard (0-1) faced off against visiting Quinnipiac (3-1) for a chilly night contest. Despite keeping pace with the Bobcats for much of the first half, the Crimson ultimately fell too far behind in the second, dropping a 39-10 decision.

“There was a lot of really great effort out there,” co-captain Xanni Brown said. “This team showed a lot of heart. Obviously, you hope for a different result to start your season, but we’re really proud of how everyone played.  We saw some really good things that we can build off for the rest of the season.”

It was a back-and-forth game for most of the first half, as neither team put up any points in the first 35 minutes of regulation. Playing against a more experienced squad, Harvard showed signs of brilliance with some near misses and hard stops.

“I think we saw what [the inexperienced Harvard squad’s] potential is in the first half of the game,” Parker said. “The first 35 minutes, we dominated possession, we dominated territory. We were pounding on the door. But for a few little mishaps and miscommunication, we would have scored a bunch of tries.”

With just five minutes left in the first half, Quinnipiac got on the board after sophomore wing Natalie Kosko ran in for the first try of the game, putting the Bobcats up, 5-0.

“I’m not surprised that Quinnipiac came out extremely strong,” Parker said. “This is their fourth match. They’ve had a bunch of really tough opponents that have helped them work out some of their kinks, and now we’re beginning that process.”

Just minutes later, Bobcat freshman Maggie Myles ran in for another try, and Quinnipiac picked up a conversion to take a 12-0 lead at the half.

“We made some technical adjustments at halftime,” Brown said. “But it was also a matter of going back to our game plan and talking about taking that launch on defense, so we start our offense when they have the ball and we’re driving them backwards the whole time. That’s something we really did well for a few minutes here and there, and it’s something we’re going to work on going forward.”

The Bobcats registered two more tries at the start of the second half to claim a 22-0 lead before Harvard finally got on the board. Junior winger Aniebiet Abasi broke away in a sprint and penetrated the Quinnipiac defense to give the Crimson its first try of the night.

Two more tries and a conversion later, the Bobcats had extended its lead to 34-5 before Brown pushed passed the Bobcats line to bring Harvard to 10 points on the night. Despite strong last-minute efforts, the Crimson was unable to capitalize again before time ran out, and a late try by the Bobcats ended the contest, 39-10.

“[We] really, really played with a lot of heart,” Parker said. “Even in the 80th minute, we were pounding on the goal line. I think if the game had gone on a little bit longer, we would have scored even a couple more tries.”

Despite the loss, Harvard still relished the opportunity to open its inaugural varsity season in front of a home crowd.

“It’s been amazing,” Brown said. “We’ve heard from generations of Radcliffe alums, other teams, other students who just stopped to say ‘good luck.’ It’s been amazing to have the whole support of the Harvard community behind us. That was a really wonderful thing for us to carry into the game, and I think that really is what helped us sustain that great effort, especially through the first half.”

With its first game of the season under its belt, the Crimson will hit the field Saturday against Yale in search of its first win of the season.

“We have a lot of really committed players on this team,” Brown said. “They’re all going to be back Saturday, and they’re going to be hungry for a win.”

—Staff writer Brenna R. Nelsen can be reached at brenna.nelsen@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @CrimsonBRN