Colgate has surged to to a 2-0 record in the Empire Rugby Conference, and the Raiders look nicely set up for a clash with Stony Brook on October 3.

Head Coach David Chapman said his squad has started to buy into what he’s trying to do, but it took some adjustment time.

“Last year was our first year in DIAA,” Chapman told Goff Rugby Report. “We were 2-4 in the conference, but we were competitive. We knew we’d take our lumps but I don’t think the record reflected how we competed. And this year the guys have stepped up and taken up the challenge.”

Chapman has drilled the Raiders in securing their set pieces and eliminating options for the opposition. He wants a mobile pack but said last year’s team didn’t have the game fitness they needed. This year they are showing they can finish games, having already beaten SUNY Brockport and SUNY Binghamton, both teams most expected to compete in the conference. 

“Being 2-4 last year we know there were some games we could have taken,” said Chapman. “This year we hope to get into the top two.”

Already they have reversed one of their 20-14 losses - Binghamton downed the Raiders 34-20 last year. All four of the Colgate Enpire losses in 2014 were relatively close, including a 24-16 scoreline to league winners Stony Brook and a 46-34 decision to #2 Kings Point.

Now they have bigger dreams. One of the players who was instrumental in helping the Raiders move up to DIAA was Dimitri Diamond. The former football team standout had jut the one season of rugby, but his experience in serious athletics was a boon to the squad. “He took a lot of the younger guys under his wing,” said Chapman. “He was a big loss. But the guys he helped are now among the team leaders.”

Senior captains Charlie Murphy and Zach Herzog have been instrumental for the squad, and they are bringing along the younger players. Junior flyhalf Eli Brick, and former football player Gus Galla, a power-running prop, have also emerged.

Having beaten Brockport and Binghamton, Colgate looks ahead to Fordham this coming weekend, a game they are favored to win. Stony Brook, currently 1-0, hosts a tough Syracuse team which has also started 2-0. If the Raiders win and the Sea Wolves survive the Hammerheads, then October 3 will be the top-of-the-table clash at Colgate’s home field in Hamilton, NY. If Syracuse gets by Stony Brook, we have to wait four more weeks for the Raiders v Hammerheads faceoff - once again in Hamilton. It could be that those crusial games being at home could help Colgate.

Scores from last weekend and games for next weekend in the Empire Conference: