UMass and Boston College will meet up in the final of the Liberty Conference DIAA division after UMass won big and BC won small Saturday.
The UMass Minutemen, as we've been discussing all season, have an excellent defense and they unleashed it this weekend over #4 seed UConn, holding the Huskies to just 10 points. Meanwhile, Massachusetts ran in 10 tries and one conversion to win it 52-10.
Oisin Allen led UMass with two tries while Liam Concannon, Kadin Phimister, Kevin Daly, Cole Kennedy, Trainor Sherck, and David Manoukian all touched down once.
Over the seven conference games (including this semifinal), Massachusetts has allowed 51 points.
Manoukian and Daly have been key for UMass in the centers, not just scoring tries but leading the defensive effort. Christian Manjikian, Phimister, and Vik Insanic have been very tough in the pack all season long.
"We had a strong scrum early on in the season but the lineout struggled," said Head Coach Phil Ciccarelli. "We took some time over the bye week and fixed a few things and it has improved significantly over the last few weeks, which has allowed us to launch a solid attack. Defense has been our identity the last three years, and now the offense has really stepped up which has been great to see."
Meanwhile, Boston College held off Yale 28-25 to end a really strong season for Yale. This was a big revenge game for the Eagles as they lost their conference opener to the Bulldogs 30-7. The three-point victory was situation normal for BC as they have had several tight games this fall.
Prop Ryan Lawler was named player of the game for BC, but this was a team victory.
