New England College dominated their regional playoffs in the National Small College Rugby Organization (NSCRO) with a 72-5 defeat of the University of Rochester, and a 38-12 defeat of Eastern Connecticut State.

That put NEC in the national semifinals, joining Central region winners St. John’s. Two more spots remain to be claimed for the April 25-26 finals.

NEC freshman Cathal Finneran was named the MVP of the playoff weekend.

"Our team played with true passion, grit and determination,” said New England College Head Coach Jeremy Treece. “Eastern Connecticut was hands down the best team we have ever played in New England Finals."

NEC has gone 33-0 over the last three years in league and regional playoff play.

Eastern Connecticut beat SUNY Oneonta 65-7 to reach the regional final. In the 3rd-4th playoff, Rochester beat Oneonta 50-7.

That game was an opportunity for UofR to show off the defense that saw them win their Upstate NY league.

The defense was led by Kenneth Gordon and Matthew Catarino, but was a team effort. They were simply overwhelmed by a well-drilled and athletic NEC team.

Also before Thanksgiving, Mary Washington pummeled Neumann University to set up a springtime clash with the South champions for a place in the quarterfinals. Mary Washington won the Cardinals Conference and are ow Mid-Atlantic winners.

So the Central champs (and national semifinalists) are St. John’s out of Minnesota.

The Northeast champs (and national semifinalists) are New England College.

The Mid-Atlantic/South will be decided between Mary Washington, Mount St. Mary’s, Susquehana, and the South champion March 28-29.

The PacWest champions will all be figured out before the end of March.

In the NSCRO Challenge Cup, Washington & Lee defeated Loyola (Maryland) 25-5 to win the East Coast regional and book a place in the national semifinals. SUNY Potsdam defeated Albright 31-10 to take 3rd.

Everything else gets figured out in March.