On Saturday March 4th, the Tritons made the two hour journey north to face off against the Matadors at California State University, Northridge. The Tritons were eager to face off against the Matadors again, having played CSUN at Scrum by the Sea in fall quarter. UCSD was ready to show how their ferocity has intensified throughout the season. Within the first minute of play, forward Roslin Amezcua made an incredible break away and scored the first try of the match, setting the intense and fast paced tone that followed for the rest of the game. Throughout the game, the Tritons applied immense pressure to the Matadors, and viscously defended their try zone while pushing the Matadors back into their own. The Matadors made for fierce competition, but the Tritons were always able to persevere in spite of this pressure. Whatever the Matadors threw at the Tritons, the Tritons were able to adapt to and immediately improve as the game went on. The team’s spirit and determination was a powerful motivator to rally around when the game got tough. Time and time again, the Matador’s forwards were no match against the big scrums San Diego brought to the pitch, proving that the Triton’s forwards are a powerful force to be reckoned with. Our full-back, Millicent Sampson-Eves made some incredible tackles, stopping the Matadors in their tracks, and acting as an essential point of defense between the Triton’s defensive line and their try zone. In the second half of the match, scrum half Kelsey Racette made an incredible kick to defend our try zone and alleviate pressure on our side, and wing Sara Tsai displayed their intensity and speed chasing after the ball, guaranteeing that the Matadors were moved back to the middle of the field. Despite the intense opening from the Tritons, the Matadors proved to be tough competition, with no team keeping the lead for long throughout the whole 80 minutes of play. The Triton’s spirit never faltered and the team refused to give up and stop fighting. Instead the Triton’s rose to the challenge, and came back harder and stronger with each play. The game was fought tooth and nail to see who would come out on top, and in the end no one team prevailed, with the ending score being a tie of 17-17. Despite this, the spirit of this team, their incredible efforts, and their passion for rugby is always something to be celebrated.