USA Women’s Sevens reaffirm goals after HSBC Vancouver SVNS

Despite a strong start with two wins on day one, the USA Women's Eagles Sevens finish 8th at the Vancouver HSBC SVNS.

Having set a target of improving on their top-five finishes during the previous three stops of the HSBC SVNS, the Women’s Sevens are already digesting the learnings from the weekend’s proceedings to hold on to their fourth place overall ranking, which still stands after the weekend with wins against China and Ireland, but New Zealand posed a challenge they were unable to answer. Overtime in the Cup Quarterfinal against Japan did not swing in the Americans favor and the Japanese clinched the golden try. The Eagles were on Canadian turf in an electric finale for 7th place, that swung in favor of the home team.

Head Coach, Emilie Bydwell commented,

“We had some good performances on day 1 with victories against China and Ireland, but we are disappointed that we’re not getting the job done in the quarter finals. We need to make effective decisions under pressure consistently and we need to be able to maintain momentum swings in our favor. 

“We’ve talked about this year being a foundational year. But our goal is to optimize our potential every time we come to a tournament and to control how we compete. Our potential is to be in the top 4, and we didn’t do it this weekend. We can’t be a new team for too long. We need to have standards and expectations for how we want to execute. So, we will go back to work - and we’ll work on how to be better together.”

In pool play, the USA Women opened against China who came out strong on the attack. The USA kept their composure as they settled in and a big USA chase down from Alyssa Porter saved a close try and reset the momentum. Sariah Ibarra responded with a 70 meter sprint to dot down and bring the USA back within three points to China at halftime. The USA restarted with defensive pressure, notably from debutant, Tessa Hann in the forwards pack. Jess Lu comes off the bench and dives across the line bringing the USA into the lead just before a yellow card to China gives the Eagles advantage which Su Adegoke capitalizes on to seal her first USA try.

Tessa Hann finds her stride against Ireland and immediately runs in a try, shortly followed by another.  The USA Women comfortably take the win 31-17. 

New Zealand was always going to be a challenge and they showed up off the mark with a quick try. The USA responded putting in some hard meters but small errors exposed the Americans and the Black Ferns were quick to capitalize. 

A familiar fixture in the Cup Quarterfinal, the USA built up a defensive wall against Japan. A quick Ariana Ramsey try put the Americans on the front foot. Japan responds, as does Spiff, who finds space on the outside and runs a try in from the length of the pitch. A fantastic try collected off the bounce from Kristi Kirshe puts the Eagles in front, but Japan touch down again and the USA need to hold onto possession for the last 45 seconds. Japan had different ideas and found space on the outside to level the score at the final buzzer forcing extra time. Both teams return to play in a scrappy fight for attrition, but Japan finds a gap in the Eagles defensive line and the speed to finish and take the golden try win in extra time. 

It’s a North American derby in the 9th Place Playoff and both sides are fairly evenly matched with the Americans coming in ranked 4th just ahead of 5th place Canada. Intensity is high in the stadium and the energy from the Canadian crowd is palpable enough as the Canadians 8th player. Ariana Ramsey plays a blinder in defense and attack and manages to find space to burn - twice.  Despite the Eagles best efforts, the Canadians keep the Americans under high pressure from start to finish and win bragging rights this time around. 

The USA Women’s Sevens will return to Chula Vista to regroup and shift momentum before resuming the SVNS series in Hong Kong and Singapore March 28th and April 5th respectively. USA fans will have the chance to cheer on the Eagles in the Tour finale when it hits Los Angeles May 3-4, 2025. Tickets on sale now.

Emilie Bydwell | Head Coach

Zack Test | Assistant Coach

Trey Ford | Head of Athletic Performance

Nicole Titmas | Manager of Medical Services; Head Athletic Trainer

Liz Strohecker | Head of Operations – Sevens

USA vs China | 21-10 (W)

Tries: S. Ibarra, J. Lu, S. Adegoke

Conv: S. Ibarra, K. Canett

USA vs Ireland | 31-17 (W)

Tries: T. Hann (2), A. Ramsey (2), A. Olsen

Conv: K. Canett

USA vs New Zealand | 0-37 (L)

USA vs Japan (Cup Quarterfinal) | 22-17 (L)

Tries: A. Ramsey, S. Sedrick, K. Kirshe

Conv: K. Canett

USA vs Canada (8th place) | 10-27 (L)

Tries: A. Ramsey (2)