The Principia College Thunder Chickens have been to the Division II 7s National Championships every year since the tournament’s inception. How does a school of 455 students become a perennial powerhouse?
"Mindset," says head coach Ward Patterson.
Last spring, the team made the trip from Elsah, IL to Denver, CO to compete with schools with student populations 100 times that of Principia. The Thunder Chickens went on to win the plate with their only two losses on the weekend, both tothe eventual champion, UNC-Charlotte.
Patterson is cautiously optimistic in the team’s process. He understands that he will have to build out a large chunk of his roster with players brand new to rugby.
“We’ve got kids in the engineering program, kids in the play, then they come out to rugby and work,” Patterson pauses, “It’s really the mindset we have, we’re going to work and get over the learning curve and win.”
In the coming months, the Thunder Chickens will have to recruit new faces around their young playmaking core. Zeya Kyaw and Travis Marunde are relied upon to determine the team’s attack strategy as interchangeable playmaking pieces from 9 and 10. In the midfield Marunde cleverly dances around to force the defense to tighten their gaps until his burners can get their space.
Principia’s gas man,Tre Goodman, returns this spring and the rest of Division II should be on notice. Goodman’s lengthy stride deceived sweepers last May, and Patterson expects much of the same this spring.
“We don’t have some rich tradition like Whitewater, or a deep population like Charlotte, but we have guys that come out to training and put in the work, so come Saturdays it’s winner, winner, chicken dinner.”
Last season it was the team's connectivity on defense that boosted the team into the playoff bracket. The squad doesn't scare anyone with size, but they communicate and shift excellently. Principia matches are often low-scoring because the Chickens finish their tackles and they don't panic on defense or offense.
Coach Patterson recognizes the opposition the Thunder Chickens will have to get through to make another nationals run, citing St. Louis University and Southern Illinois as chief rivals.
“SLU is always tough, and Carbondale can shock people, you never know what will change on paper from day 1 to the squads that run out for the conference championship.”