Mount Vernon Memorial Stadium

WER 2025 – RD 13: New York Exiles v Chicago Tempest

The New York Exiles host the Chicago Tempest at Mount Vernon Memorial Stadium during Round 13, the final round of the Inaugural Women’s Elite Rugby season!

The Chicago Tempest are already ruled out of the Legacy Cup wth a 0-9 record so far, but have this final opportunity to grab their first victory in their final game. The New York Exiles, on the other hand, currently sit 4th but have a narrow shot at making the final and will need a bonus point victory here to maximise their chances. Last week, the Exiles handed the Denver Onyx their first (and only) defeat of the season, so their confidence is sky high. These teams have met once in the past, with New York taking a 17-48 road victory all the way back in Round 2.

It was the Tempest who got on the board first through Canadian Sevens player Vanessa Ciappetta in the 14th minute, before the Exiles hit back through Misha Green-Yotts in the 21st, followed by Chloe Jex in the 29th. The pendulum swung back towards the Tempest, who evened things up through Kit Buzby, before swinging back to the Exiles who took the lead on the stroke of half-time thanks to a Jetta Owens score. Although the 2nd half started with both sides evenly matched, the New York Exiles gradually began to pull away. Another Jetta Owens score extended their lead, and tries roughly every 10 minutes knocked the wind out of the Tempest’s sails. A final score of 43-14 sealed the victory for New York including 23pts from Jetta Owens alone, a WER record.

The Exiles had done all they could, they would now need to wait for the result of the Bay Breakers v Denver Onyx game to know if New York had made the final. They sit 1pt ahead of the Breakers as things stand, so need a big Onyx victory.

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WER 2025 – RD 11: New York Exiles v Denver Onyx

The Denver Onyx travel to the Big Apple to face the New York Exiles during Round 11 of WER’s inaugural season!

Heading into this game, the Denver Onyx had recorded a  7-0 record with 7 bonus points for a flawless 35pts to lead the league, and were coming off of a huge 53-21 victory against the Boson Banshees. The New York Exiles, sat in 4th place heading into this game with a 4-4 record, are are aiming to trip up the seemingly invincible Onyx and possibly jump to 2nd with a bonus point victory here. These teams have met once in the past, with the Onyx dealing the Exiles an enormous 62-7 defeat back in Round 3.

The story was very different the second time around, but they didn’t start that way. The Onyx ran out to a 0-12 lead thanks to tries from KB Slaughter and Madison Sheveland, before the Exiles hit back through Chloe Jex for a half-time score of 7-12. New York started the second half as they finished the first, with a flurry of scores from Cari Pick, Jetta Owens, and Scout Cheeks to claim a 24-12 lead. A Kiana Lally score closed the gap for the Onyx, but that’s all they could manage.

A final score of 24-17 to the New York Exiles hands the Denver Onyx their first defeat of the season! This game also featured the first married teammates in WER history, with Misha Green-Yotts starting for the Exiles while her wife Gael Green-Yotts was in the reserves!

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WER 2025 – RD 9: New York Exiles v Twin Cities Gemini

The Twin Cities Gemini travel to the Big Apple to face the Exiles at Mount Vernon Memorial Stadium during Round 9 of WER’s inaugural season!

The last game of the 3rd placed Exiles was a 28-34 road win over the Gemini back in Round 7, and they are fresh off of their Rd 8 bye. Sat just behind them in the standings in 4th, the Gemini’s most recent game saw them fall 19-38 to the formidable Denver Onyx, and they are looking to snap a 2-game skid. These teams have met once previously, in that Round 7 clash taken by the Exiles at TCO Stadium.

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WER 2025 – RD 4: New York Exiles v Bay Breakers

The Bay Breakers travel across the country to face the New York Exiles in a cross-country clash curing Round 4 of the inaugural WER season!

The Breakers are coming off a huge home win over the TC Gemini, and are looking to continue that momentum. The Exiles were on the losing side of an even bigger Denver Onyx victory last week and are looking to bounce back. These teams have never met before.

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WER 2025 – RD1: New York Exiles v Boston Banshees

The first game in Women’s Elite Rugby (WER) history saw the New York Exiles face the Boston Banshees at Mount Vernon Memorial Stadium to usher in a new era of women’s rugby in the United States!

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2023 – Eastern Eliminator: Rugby New York Ironworkers v Old Glory DC

The 2023 Eastern Conference Eliminator saw the defending champion Rugby New York Ironworkers host Old Glory DC in their first every Championship Series appearance.

This started perfectly for the hosts, with Fa’asiu Fuatai scoring just 45 seconds in. The conversion was missed however and DC erased this lead shortly after, with William Talataina scoring and late addition Tito Diaz Bonilla adding the 2 to give the Flags an early 5-7 lead. Diaz Bonilla would add a pair of penalties to extend their lead to 5-13 shortly after the water break, before the tables started to turn. an Ironworkers maul was brought down illegally and thus a penalty try was awarded, as well as a yellow card for DC Captain Kyle Baillie. 6 minutes later, Lautaro Bavaro joined him for the same offence, reducing DC to 13 men and facing another relentless maul from the hosts, which was converted into a try by Dylan Fawsitt, and Sam Windsor added the two. Diaz Bonilla added another 3 from 40+ metres just before half-time to reduce the deficit to 19-16.

Fawsitt would strike again 10 minutes into the 2nd half, although not without controversy. He as carried over the line but appeared to be held up, and the ref agreed. The TMO did not, however, and intervened to award the try despite evidence suggesting otherwise. Windsor again added the 2 to stretch their lead to 26-16. This try made Dylan Fawsitt the 6th player in League history to record a multi-try game in the playoffs.

This decision seemingly lit a fire under the DC team, as they struck back with Kyle Baillie making up for his earlier mistake. A flurry of phases from Old Glory resulted in the big lock muscling over in the corner, with another excellent kick from Diaz Bonilla bringing the score to 26-23. DC stayed on the front foot, and a scrum infringement earned NY’s Sam Davies a yellow card, shortly followed by Tevita Langi after a 4th scrum penalty, prompting another Penalty Try, against the hosts this time.

DC lead 26-30 heading into the last 10 minutes and survived a heap of NY pressure, with Dylan Fawsitt spilling the ball in the hunt for his 3rd of the day. A turnover will a handful of seconds remaining was finished by Kurt Baker to secure the win for the visitors despite a consolation try from DaQuan Perry with the clock in the red. The Flags will advance to the Conference Finals to face the Free Jacks at Fort Quincy, while the Ironworkers head to the offseason and look towards 2024.

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2023 – RD 18: Rugby New York Ironworkers v Utah Warriors

The Utah Warriors travel to Mount Vernon to face the Reigning MLR Champion Rugby New York Ironworkers.

The Ironworkers have already clinched their playoff spot, but would need just a single point to secure home field advantage for the Eliminator Round against Old Glory DC. The Utah Warriors were playing for nothing but pride, having been eliminated from playoff contention despite holding an impressive 9-6 record going into this game.

The game was a back and forth affair through the first half. With the two sides alternating try scoring with 3 tries each and NY holding a narrow 19-14 lead going into the break. The Warriors exploded into the second half, however. Joel Hodgson and Calvin Whiting dotted down in the 42nd and 45th minutes respectively to give Utah a healthy lead before NY stabilised and Ishmail Shabazz grounds in the corner in his first game of 2023 to give NY the try BP and clinch home field advantage for the Eliminator Round before Jurie van Vuuren restored the Warriors’ buffer.

DaQuan Perry scored his 1st MLR try at the 70th minute to bring NY back to within 5, before new Utah signing Jesse Hamilton grabbed a try on his debut with seconds remaining to seal the deal for Utah. They finish the 2023 season with a 10-6 record and 50pts. This is the 2nd best record to NOT qualify for the playoffs, and the 3rd best points total to miss.

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2023 – RD 16: Rugby New York Ironworkers v Dallas Jackals

The Ironworkers host the Dallas Jackals in Week 16 of MLR 2023. While Dallas has nothing to lose, the reigning champs are fighting to secure the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

A dominant 7 try, 43-14 victory for the hosts sees them pick up all 5 points in the standings, putting the pressure on Rugby ATL and NOLA to win their next game to keep their chances alive.

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2023 – RD 12: New York Ironworkers v NOLA Gold

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2023 – RD 10: New York Ironworkers v Houston SaberCats

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