BOYDS, MD — In 2025, Northeastern Women’s Rugby returned to Boston with two trophies, winning the National Championship in both 7s and 15s. Back at CRCs in 2026, the Maddogs find themselves atop the Division I-AA conference once again following a 14-0 victory over Colorado State.
The two-match, final day of the tournament began unexpectedly for Northeastern — they conceded an early try in the semifinal game against Arizona State, which gave the Maddogs their first deficit of the weekend.
However, Northeastern settled in as the half wore on and cut the Sun Devils’ lead to two with a try in the late goings of the opening stanza.
“We talked at halftime about trusting our training,” said Northeastern head 7s Coach Margaret Reiss. “I mean, we [got to] see good competition, so hats off to Arizona State. They gave us a matchup. But the kids knew to trust their training, and they play well when they’re playing as a continuous unit.
“So we worked,” Reiss continued. “We made a few lineup changes at half [and] brought a little more speed into our lineup, but really, we just told them to stay calm, stay composed, move the ball through hands, find space, play simple, clean rugby, and it put points on board.”
In the second half, the Maddogs turned the tide, scoring two more tries — from sophomore Mira Mahmoud and senior Kourtney Bichotte-Dunner — to close out a 19-7 victory and send Northeastern to the championship.
“There wasn’t really too much [to tell the team] other than tell them [to] play how we’ve been playing all along,” said head coach Keith Cattanach. “[To] come out the first two minutes [and 30 seconds], of that second half, [with] Mira going down that sideline. [It] just set the tone for the rest of that game.”
Heading into the afternoon championship match with Colorado State, Northeastern carried all the confidence and momentum they needed to bring home another title.
The Maddogs needed just two tries in the match to complete the 14-0 victory, in part due to the strong defensive contribution of Bichotte-Dunner — who had graduated in Boston the day before joining her team for the semi and final games.
“It feels amazing, like we were here last year we won,” said Bichotte-Dunner. “It feels just as amazing, except now I’m graduated, so it’s good to end off on this note.”
Bichotte-Dunner was recognized by the league as the championship game MVP adding another title to an already decorated senior season. She herself added how impactful her defensive play was to the team’s success.
“I think it was the defense [that stood out],” said Bichotte-Dunner. “I didn’t score too much, but when it came to like those open field tackles, I was really hitting it, and it felt really amazing. Also, the team support, the team camaraderie, was really driving me.”
Northeastern’s continued dominance in Division I-AA is a testament to the consistency and dedication of the players and coaching staff alike. Cattanach hopes championships will stand as constant reminders to what can be accomplished with sustained effort:
“They want to keep the legacy going,” he said. “They want to basically keep [building] on what we’ve earned already. Everybody has that aspiration to keep driving this program as strong as it is.
“When you got 60-70+ players on the squad stepping up every week, working, pushing each other — it’s a tight community,” continued Cattanach. “How do I improve? How do I help my younger player get to where I was? That whole mentality, that community from all those girls, that’s what they take into this weekend. That’s why we’re allowed to produce the squad you saw today. But it comes from the entire team.”
Luke Graham is the Sports Director and former Digital Content Manager for WRBB Sports. He has covered Northeastern hockey and baseball with WRBB both on-air and in print for three years. Read all his articles here, and follow him on X here.