The Liberty D1 season got going this weekend with four games: Brown vs Siena, Dartmouth vs Syracuse, AIC vs Fairfield, and Iona vs Fordham.
All four games were competitive, or even extremely close.
AIC vs Fairfield
Early-season rustiness might explain the lack of offense in this one. AIC opened the scoring with a penalty goal from flyhalf German Rossi. Fairfield answered with a try and that slim 5-3 lead held on until the game was almost over.
A late penalty allowed Rossi to line up the game-winner, which he promptly put over, giving AIC the 6-5 win.
"Great defensive game," said Fairfield Head Coach Austin Ryan. "Terrible conditions. Fairfield didn’t let in a try. AIC held their lines well."
Both teams struggled with adjusting to the new tackle height, and in fact the final penalty was indeed a high tackle.
Dartmouth vs Syracuse
Dartmouth beat Syracuse 39-13. The Big Green was led by Jamie Philips, who scored four tries and added to that with plenty of off-the-ball work.
“The forwards gave us a strong platform in the set piece and the team brought a lot of physicality,” said Dartmouth Head Coach Kyle Sumsion. “We will look to continue to build upon [that physicality] as we take on Iona this week.”
