SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - The women’s rugby team at American International College (AIC) is on a roll.

Over the weekend, the Yellow Jackets brought home their second national title of the school year, but their secret weapon isn’t a play -- it’s a philosophy.

“To have a team win two national championships in a single year is unprecedented,” said AIC Director of Athletics Rob Kearney. “They made a lot of people recognize the program, the talent, and the passion that we have here at AIC for rugby.”

Yellow Jackets Director of Rugby Jameson Bonti says his program has a huge family mindset. That tight-knit family environment the team built over the year helped create a solid core and an idea the team created called “the green flame.”

“The green flame is the idea that at the core of a fire, that is where that flame is hottest,” said Bonti. “That flame eventually turns green, and that resembles people that come into our lives ... and those are people that we trust, that we love.”

The team echoes Bonti’s sentiment, saying this “family mindset” was built off the field, at the movies, at the Big E, and through a lot of accountability.

“The fact that accountability is one thing that you show love through is very big for me personally,” said tournament MVP Naomi Dodd. “And the fact that we’re able to pick each other up throughout the good and the bad times.”

The team will now move up to Division 1 starting next year.