Williams Alum Kirshe Leads U.S. Rugby to Olympic Semi-Finals
Williams College alum Kristi Kirshe and the U.S. women's rugby sevens team are one win away from securing a medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France.
On Monday afternoon (EDT), the Eagles came from behind to beat Great Britain, 17-7, in the Olympic quarter-finals.
And Kirshe was key in the win.
Great Britain, which eliminated the Americans at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, took a 7-0 lead early and led, 7-5, at half-time.
But Kirshe scored a try off the second-half restart to give the Eagles a 10-7 lead, and the conversion made it 12-7.
Then, Kirshe assited on Sammy Sullivan's try to stretch the lead to 10 points.
NBC commentator Rupert Cox called it, "the performance of [Kirshe's] life in an Olympic quarter-final."
Cox noted that Kirshe, who graduated from Williams in 2017, took up rugby after graduation while working in Boston. The Franklin, Mass., native was an all-America selection in women's soccer while at Williams.
Team USA, which started its Monday with a loss to host France in the conclusion of pool play, advances to Tuesday's 9:30 a.m. (EDT) Olympic semi-final against New Zealond, a 55-5 winner over China in the quarters on Monday.
The Bronze medal and Gold medal matches are scheduled for 1 p.m. and 1:45, respectively, on Tuesday.
