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Major League Rugby will celebrate an historic milestone on Thursday evening. Kat Roche has been appointed Referee of the fixture between the Seattle Seawolves and Houston SaberCats, becoming the first woman to be assigned the lead officiating role of an MLR match.
Roche, 26, has been a regular as an Assistant Referee in MLR since her first appointment in February of 2019. Originally from Pennsylvania, the Dallas resident is the youngest member of the USA national panel. She took charge of the 2019 Women’s Premier League Final and notably refereed the Austin Gilgronis preseason match against the Austin Blacks at Bold Stadium in 2020.
Other women who have acted as Assistants in MLR include Amelia Luciano, Lee Bryant, Michelle O’Brien, Haylee Slaughter, and new additions this season Gray Montrose and Deven O’Crump. At the professional level Roche follows in the footsteps of former international referee Leah Berard, who was a senior panel member during the 2016 PRO Rugby season.
