PSU Over Army - Rugby East Latest
Penn State sits alone at the top of the Rugby East Conference after the Nittany Lions defeated Army 29-13 Saturday in a battle of two undefeated teams.
Penn State led from start to finish, getting a penalty right after the initial kickoff, which was slotted by scrumhalf Jimmy Ronan, and building from there. After that initial Ronan penalty, the teams settled down for about 18 minutes. But midway through the first half PSU got a try when Ryan McNulty set up Connor Cassidy. Ronan converted for the 10-0 lead. Some good phase work put PSU in scoring position again and flanker Malcolm May carried it over to make Penn State’s lead 15-0.
Army got something going late in the first half, and some pressure on the Lions yielded two kickable penalties, both of which Jon Kim put over to make it 15-6 at the break.
Furman Wins Key Southern Conf Clash
In a thrilling clash of undefeated teams in the Southern Men's DII Rugby Conference, Furman battled past UNC-Charlotte 13-5 Thursday night.
Both teams were undefeated in conference play as they met under the lights at Furman. The Paladins took an early lead - center Adam Miller powered through at the 13-minute mark.
But UNC-C regained some momentum, especially after Furman center Jacob Milchuck left the game with a shoulder injury, and then lock RJ Bradley was sin binned for a rucking violation. While Furman was unable to score after those setbacks, Charlotte was unable to score, as well, and the first half ended 5-0.
Men DII College Games Oct. 6-9
UNC Charlotte v Furman is one of the many intriguing clashes in Men's DII Rugby this weekend.
Drexel v Rowan, Rhode Island v Vermont, Roger Williams v UMass-Lowell, Siena v RPI, Marquette v NMU, Sacred Heart v Marist, and Oneonta v Vassar are all games between major contending teams in their respective conferences.
Check back for scores.
Men DI College Games Oct 6-9
Here are the games set for the weekend of October 7-9; check back for scores.
We take a little bit closer look at the Big Ten, and a closer look at the Empire, Keystone and ECRC.
We will be updating scores throughout the weekend.
Time for Contenders to Make a Big 10 Push
Time to separate the contenders from the pretenders in the Big Ten, as most of the top half teams in the conference play each other.
A quick glance at the stats shows that Indiana has dominated, clearly. They've dominated so much that even without their captain and best player, Bryce Campbell, they are heavily favored against Michigan.
Flyhalf Teddy Terezis has scored 79 in the three conference games - over 26 points per game. Campbell has three tries, but his job has been more about distributing, helping set up Terezis (four tries), Tyler Sousley (five), and wing Jake Hidalgo (six). Flanker Tyler Graham also has scored five tries, while the entire Indiana team has given up exactly one try.
Southern Cal Men's Rugby Suspended
The University of Southern California men's rugby team has been suspended for the fall of 2016.
In a statement, USC Head Rugby Coach Dominic Riebli said the team is withdrawing from all fall 7s tournaments, and that the team's spring schedule is currently in doubt. Riebli did not say why the team has been suspended, saying that he was unsure if he was at liberty to discuss details.
The team is slated to appeal its suspension in December.
Empire Still Up in the Air
We’re back looking at the Empire Conference because every week there’s a question.
And this week the question is, could Stony Brook get back in the race?
Top Keystone Teams Clash Saturday
Saint Joseph’s and Pitt have won their first two Keystone Conference games easily, and now they face off against each other this Saturday to decide who takes the West Division.
Pitt shut out Lock Haven two weeks ago 57-0, and followed that up with a 64-3 defeat of Millersville. St. Joe’s has gone just a step better, beating Millersville 95-10, and Lock Haven 80-0. It’s clear they’re the top two.
“The team is playing well but we have big test this weekend against Pitt,” said St. Joe’s Coach Dan Yarusso.
For the Hawks, freshman Noah Niu has been outstanding at flyhallf, and with Connor McAuliffe scoring tries out wide, they are putting together some big scores.
Sophomore forwards Colin Johnson and George Harris are having breakout years, while senior Ryan Stickno will likely be someone SJU leans on in this upcoming game.
Top Teams in West Coast 7s
The West Coast 7s kicks off the college 7s season in the California area with a tough 12-team lineup.
Of note is the fact that both the CRC champion (Cal) and the USA Rugby College 7s champion (Saint Mary’s) will be in the event. It’s likely neither team wants to pump up that rivalry too much … except not as the tournament preview quoted Saint Mary’s 7s Coach Joey Reavey said it’s clear the Gaels are the best 7s team in the country and would have won the CRC.
Well, there you have it. Cal Head Coach Jack Clark demurred on discussing such a standoff.
The San Luis Obispo tournament has been held five times previously, with Saint Mary’s winning twice, UCLA winning twice, and Cal winning it last year. All three previous winners are back.
BC v NEC Highlights ECRC Weekend
While AIC leads the ECRC, there’s still plenty of opportunity for other teams to catch up.
That chase is basically between NEC and Boston College. NEC sits at 3-1 and BC is 3-0, so this would be a battle for 2nd (at the moment).
For NEC, injuries hit them early and they are now back to full strength. Head Coach Tal Bayer said the team is starting to embrace the coach’s more free-flowing approach to the game.
NEC lost to to AIC 29-21 early in September. Bayer says he feels his team is stronger now.
“We are optimistic,” said Bayer. “But at the same time, we’ve never beaten BC. They’ve got a pretty deep squad and I’ve heard some good things about their backs. We need to make sure our backs play our game, and put pressure on them in defense. Our forwards need to get to the breakdowns quickly and play high-pressure, attacking rugby.”
BYU Question Still a Question as Season Starts
Reports are that Brigham Young University is still looking for a postseason plan.
According to various sources, negotiations are ongoing with both the Varsity Cup and DIA to allow BYU to compete in one of those playoff series. The Varsity Cup is a postseason tournament only, but issues surrounding the eligibility of a number of BYU players prompted the Cougars to pull out this summer.
Efforts have been ongoing to get BYU to change some internal policies and return to the Varsity Cup, but nothing has been finalized to the satisfaction of the other participating teams. Reports that United World Sports will reduce support of the Varsity Cup if BYU is not involved have been circulating, but not been verified - nor have those rumors (which is basically what they are) been fully quashed.
DI Rugby - Who's Up, Who's Down (with Standings)
Below you'll see updated standings for the various leagues (including the ones that haven't played yet!) and we also want to take a look at who's up and who's down in DI Rugby.
(See Scores from Last Weekend Here)
Who's Up: Air Force. They might have been a shade lucky, who knows, but the Zoomies won the opening round of the three-game inter-service-academy series, the Commander-in-Chief Trophy, 32-31 over Navy.
Who's Down: A new team every week in the Empire. It's like we do an article about a team, and that team loses! What gives? Brockport and Syracuse looked superb a week ago, and then both got nailed this past weekend. Go figure.
Lessons, Harbingers in Davenport v L-B Result
Davenport University defeated Lindenwood-Belleville this past weekend 38-15 in a game that told us much about both teams.
For Davenport, it was a nice, encouraging victory after the two-point loss to Notre Dame College. The Panthers looked quite solid and in control, punching in tries after some tenacious Lynx defense at the tryline. Despite it being wet and chilly, Davenport stuck to the task impressively.
Fordham Win Shakes Up Empire Again
Fordham University Men's Rugby displayed aggressive defense and a nice team performance to shock Brockport 54-0 Sunday to move into 2nd in the Empire Conference.
The Empire continues to confound predictions and fans as teams that look on top of the world one weekend will be down the next. traveling seems to be a problem for many, as home teams are 9-3 so far, with one of those three away wins a forfeit, and another by the score of 3-0. Only one team, Syracuse, has managed a truly impressive road win, 34-14 at Stony Brook. But Syracuse then found themselves on the business end of a 39-10 score from Colgate this past weekend just to keep them humble.
IUP Wins Clash of Undefeateds
Indiana University of Pennsylvania is now 4-0 in the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Conference after beating previously undefeated York 29-22 Saturday.
For IUP, this was a big victory as they look to unseat Rowan as conference champs.
Head Coach Tony Chappie said it wasn’t a perfect game - both teams made errors, but his team did enough to win.
“York dominated in the scrums, and even took several of our put-ins,” said Chappie. “They had several tough strong forwards that bashed the ball up around the ruck. We tackled way too high which allowed their big forwards to continue to recycle ball. But when we played our game, which is to set quick rucks, and get the ball to our backs, we were able to create over loads and score.”
Player of the game for IUP was center Jim Maddas, who made several line breaks, scored a crucial try, and defended well.
