By Taylor Nigrelli
Opinion Editor
Laura Clesse knows the thrill that winning a rugby game can bring and the utter humiliation of a blowout defeat.
She’s experienced the confidence of walking into a game, knowing the other team doesn’t have a chance and the hopelessness of being on the other side of that type of game.
Her four years at St. Bonaventure have yielded an array of results – the team won the state championship her freshman year before moving up into a more competitive division and struggling. The team failed to even score once during the fall season of her junior year.
Coming into this season, Clesse realized she had the opportunity to recapture the glory of her freshman year. So, it should come as no surprise that she didn’t allow the small matter of having two sprained ankles and a dislocated kneecap stand in her way.
She played – and even scored a try – in St. Bonaventure’s 45-5 victory over the University of Rochester Saturday.
The match followed the script of most of the team’s contests this year – the Bonnies built a big lead early and cruised to victory over an overmatched opponent, with Clesse leading the way.
But in the team’s final game of the regular season, Clesse went down. She tripped while running and felt a pop in her ankle, she had sprained it. At halftime, she put on an ankle brace and re-entered the game. While running with the ball, she turned her other ankle sideways, and an opposing player fell on it, spraining it. The team won in spite of her being hobbled and clinched a spot in the Rugby West playoffs.
She didn’t practice all week leading up to the playoff matchup against Plattsburgh and struggled to walk. But she never doubted her ability to play in the game.
The pain will go away, she told herself. Either that, or she’d power through. Missing a playoff game in her senior season was not an option.
Clesse started and contributed in the team’s 34-7 romping of Plattsburgh. The victory sent the Bonnies to the state championship, where they’d again face off against the University of Rochester. Early in the match, Clesse was tackled, and her knee got caught between the opposing player’s legs and twisted.
She heard a pop and felt the knee cap move out of place, she immediately knew she dislocated it.
She left the game briefly, taped it up and continued to play. She didn’t score a try, but she assisted on multiple scores.
After the game, she took the tape off her leg and found that she couldn’t walk. Her teammates had to carry her off the field.
Clesse, once again, convinced herself she’d play the following Saturday. She was again unable to practice and hobbled around on crutches throughout the week. She struggled to go up and down stairs and felt almost constant pain in her knee. But she refused to allow herself to even consider missing this game. It was too important to her.
If you didn’t know she was injured, you probably wouldn’t have guessed it by watching her on the pitch. She played with her usual mix of speed and skill, despite the pain.
Now, Clesse and the Bonnies are heading to New Hampshire to play the University of New England in the Northeast Regional Championships. If they’re able to win two games this weekend, they’ll qualify for national championships.
All this a year after they failed to score so much as a try in 2013. Clesse’s i mpressive toughness and recovery are symbolic of the entire program’s phoenix-like rise.
After forfeiting multiple games last year due to injury and lack of interest, the Bonnies are now the class of their conference.
And it isn’t just because they moved down a division. They thoroughly dominated Division II Fredonia earlier this year and completely demolished nearly every team they came across.
Now they have a chance to redeem last year’s failings and put the stamp on a dominant 2014 campaign.
Clesse and the Bonnies are heading to New Hampshire this weekend, looking to clinch a spot in the national championship.
It doesn’t appear there’s a damn thing that can stop them.
