Eagles run away with Atlanta 7s Plate Semifinal

KENNESAW, Ga. - The Women's Eagles Sevens crossed the try line six times in a 38-0 shutout of Fiji Saturday in the HSBC Atlanta 7s Plate Semifinal at Fifth Third Bank Stadium at Kennesaw State University.

Rather than sulk following the team's first loss of the weekend in the Cup Quarterfinal to Australia, the U.S. was running on all cylinders in its fifth match on home soil. Alev Kelter accounted for 12 points and Bui Baravilala successfully converted three tries for the Eagles to advance to the Plate Final. Kickoff against Russia in the trophy match is scheduled for a 7:18 p.m. ET kickoff.

Australia kept the Eagles from going forward for most of the Cup Quarterfinal, and the pent-up go-forward attack came out of Richie Walker's side early in the Plate Semifinal. Baravilala retrieved possession from Fiji on Kelter's opening restart and Kelter hit Megan Bonny with the first pass near the wing for a 5-0 lead in the first minute.

The wind in Georgia had been acting up all day, and forced another U.S. restart to not travel 10 meters. Bonny forced a knock out of Fiji's attack before it could reach the 10 for an Eagles put-in to the scrum. Jessica Javelet was released on the wing from her own 22, though she was not able to finish the job in-goal. Richelle Stephens offered support at the attacking 22, and the Eagles moved the ball through hands to Kate Zackary for a 10-0 score line.

Fiji, which won only one of its four matches preceding the Plate Semifinal, did not spend much time with ball in hand against the Eagles, and had a breakaway called back in the fifth minute for a forward pass. The Eagles proceeded to continue their onslaught on the Fijian try zone, and Stephen went over in the corner to make the score 17-0. Kelter and Bonny exchanged passes along the wing just before the halftime whistle for Kelter to dot down in-goal, extending the halftime lead to 24-0.

"We were definitely disappointed with the Australia result,' U.S. captain Jillion Potter said following the Semifinal. "That's a very challenging team but we held our heads up high and showed a lot of class and resilience when we played Fiji.

"We wanted to make sure we were in our defensive channels - something we've been working on throughout the tournament - especially because Fiji likes the offload game.'

The Eagles continued their clinical display from the second-half restart, with Ryan Carlyle taking advantage of the smallest of gaps and Stephens playing the match official's advantage to perfection at the attacking 22. Baravilala took the quick tap and Kelter ran a line into space to extend the lead to 31-0.

Javelet was given room to run on the wing several times during the match, and also provided the support for her teammates to finish off the scoring. Potter pounced on a loose Fijian pass inside her side's defensive half and Nicole Heavirland stood up one tackler for Zackary to barge towards the 22, where she was taken to the pitch with a high tackle. Not one to milk the contact, Zackary looked up and fed the onrushing Javelet to bring the final score to 38-0.

The Eagles defeated Russia in their only meeting this season, a 19-10 result in pool play in São Paulo. The U.S. finished fourth in that tournament, and will look to take a trophy - and the maximum available Series points - back to the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., before heading to next week's HSBC Canada Women's Sevens.

"We're looking forward to improving from the Fiji game and taking home some hardware,' Potter said. "I think sticking to the fundamentals and our game plan, and executing that, is going to give us a platform, win or lose, for Langford.

"But we want to come out on top, and I feel confident the team will do that.'

The Plate Semifinal will be broadcast live on The Rugby Channel from 7:18 p.m. ET.

Women's Eagles Sevens | v. Fiji

1. Jillion Potter (C)

2. Megan Bonny

7. Alev Kelter