Club Sports: The Muddy Huskies

It has been more than two years since the Lady Maddogs made the transition from Division II to Division I as a club sport. But despite changes along the way, one thing has remained the same: they're not afraid to get physical.

For the club women's rugby team, unlike in many women's sports, tackling and physical contact is a part of the game. And, even though rugby is popular around the world, especially in the United Kingdom and Australia, it's foreign to many in the United States.

"I went to high school in England, so I was exposed to it," said Allie Roderique, a recent graduate who is finishing her fourth season with the team.

Roderique said she had a sense of the game before she started playing but is still amazed by its intensity.

"It's really demanding mentally and physically," she said. "You've got to be versatile to play offense and defense, take hits and make hits."

But most players on the Lady Maddogs weren't as familiar with rugby as Roderique before they started to play the sport. Stacey Markovic, the team's backs captain, played basketball and soccer in high school and didn't pick up rugby until her freshman year at Northeastern.

"There's a unique style," Markovic said. "We do get to hit people as hard as we want; we can brag; we don't have pads; but there's still technique involved. You can still say, 'That was a beautiful play.'"

Markovic was a part of the Lady Maddogs three years ago, when the team was bumped up to Division I - a move the team hadn't planned.

"We just kind of fell into it," Markovic said. "We went to nationals and the league asked us to move up because we had been doing well."

And although there are some negatives to moving into a more competitive division, Markovic said it was an eye-opener for the once-casual team.

"Obviously our winning percentage hasn't been as great as it had been those past couple years in D-II," she said. "But playing harder teams, though, also makes the rugby a lot better … which will make the program a lot better."

At the same time, another addition has helped improve the team. Coach Diana Parkhurst, a member of the Boston Women's Rugby Club, joined the Lady Maddogs in 2006.

While the team didn't make nationals this season, Parkhurst is continually giving the Northeastern club a competitive edge.

"I had to take a lot of raw talent and put it together in a real, formal, structured game plan because we had a lot of really good athletes but just needed to unify the team and play as a team," Parkhurst said.

In order to compete with Brown and Vassar, two teams that won the No. 1 and No. 2 northeast seeds to nationals this year, the Lady Maddogs have to play rugby more consistently, even if they're working full-time jobs or taking classes.

"It's really hard at Northeastern because of the co-ops," Parkhurst said. "You have [players] for a season or two seasons and then they're gone for a year. Even if they're going on a local co-op, it impacts their ability to practice or travel."

Parkhurst said although the team still has a great core group of girls coming back for next season, the Lady Maddogs need to find a way to bring their numbers up.

"The goal was to put some flyers in the orientation packets," Markovic said.

Parkhurst said raising awareness for the emerging sport has to start from the bottom up.

"In order for rugby in our country to really take off, it has to come from the grassroots," said Parkhurst, who works at Needham High School and implemented rugby into the school's physical education program.

Until then, the team has to compete for players with other clubs - players who often choose sports they're more familiar with.

Sophomore team member Chelsea Dietz said trying a new sport has been very rewarding.

"[It's] a sport that's a great conversation piece," she said. "And, on the flip side, you'll make friends for life."