US women’s rugby team medals at Paris Olympics: New England athletes react

The U.S. women's rugby team beat Australia Tuesday at the Paris Olympics, winning their first medal ever.

Team USA has not reached the Olympic podium for rugby in a century. The men's team won gold in 1924, also in Paris. The women won bronze 100 years later.

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The team has several players with New England ties. Kristi Kirshe is from Franklin, Massachusetts, and Ilona Maher is from Vermont. Two others attended school in the region: Sarah Levy went to Northeastern University and Ariana Ramsey went to Dartmouth.

"That took absolutely everything, and I hope you can tell it means absolutely everything to us," Kirshe said on the field after the win. "We had a very hard road to get here, and I'm just so proud of this team and all of us."

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Team USA won its first women's rugby medal in history, and several of the athletes have ties to New England.

Maher could not hold back tears Tuesday, as the win meant redemption after Tokyo.

"I did this for my family, cause they knew what I went through after that last Olympics, and how broken I was after losing in the quarters, so they know it better than anyone," she said. "To come back from that, like, I did it for them, and they're the ones that keep me grounded."

Back in Massachusetts, Levy's coach at Northeastern is brimming with pride.

"I've been on cloud nine for several weeks now," said Keith Cattanach, women’s head rugby coach at Northeastern.

Sarah Levy, a Northeastern University graduate, was a key contributor to the first ever medal U.S. women's rugby.

He said it's been "surreal" watching Levy go to the Olympics.

Rugby players and fans from New England are also thrilled with the women's team's historical achievement.

"So excited about women's rugby. We don't hear a lot of people talk about it, and now everybody's abuzz," said rugby fan Nikki Athas.

"USA is not historically a rugby power of the world, so to be competing with these top elite teams, it's just really incredible," said local rugby player Tierney Morton.