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The Northeast women’s all-star 7s team defeated the Mid-Atlantic to take the 2009 NASC at Randall’s Island in New York City Sunday.

NRU trailed for much of the game, but a second-half try from US International Jen Sinkler put the Northeast ahead for good.

In the early going it looked like the Sharks’ day, as the Mid-Atlantic were more pumped up and aggressive. From solid phase possession at midfield CJ Hildreth drifted wide, drew the defenders, and then hit Stacy Bennett bursting into the line at pace.

With no sweeper back for the Northeast, Bennett had a clear run to the tryline and did not disappoint. Lauren Hoeck’s conversion gave MARFU a 7-0 lead.

Now awakened to the realization that this was a final, the Northeast replied right off the restart. Sinkler danced her way through a couple of defenders and then fed wing Jenna Flatemen right around midfield. Flatemen used some fancy footwork of her own to beat two defenders to score in the corner. MARFU’s lead was cut to two at 7-5.

That’s how it stayed through halftime, as both teams ramped up their defense. Mid-Atlantic had some promising overloads, but were corralled, especially by Sinkler, whose defense rivaled her offensive output.

Into the second half NRU pressured and won clean ball about 30 metres out. Sinkler took the corner, handed off her defender twice, and stayed on her feet long enough to touch down in the corner to make it 10-7.

That’s how it ended, and the Northeast won yet another close NASC final, 10-7.

"Obviously we are very happy,” Northeast Women’s Coach Chris Ryan said.

“It was a really good week and we couldn’t have asked for a better outcome. We had a lot of local support and MetNY hosted a great event. Hopefully there are many more like this in the future."

Stacy Bennett was named tournament MVP, and she, and others received their medals from England 7s star Ben Gollings.