As we started to get closer to playoff time the Liberty is coming to a climax with four teams still undefeated and three more at 2-1 or better.

Syracuse Toughs it Out

Buffalo battled Syracuse well and the high-scoring Orangemen were limited to only three tries. Buffalo's defense was staunch and they came back nicely from a 13-0 deficit to score twice just before halftime to make it 13-10 at the break. Syracuse won't be happy with that second try as they were unable to win a lineout with their own throw-in on their own five-meter.

"Buffalo had a lot of momentum and it felt like we were holding on for life for a while," said Syracuse club president Nick Merriam. When UB finally scored and converted to take a 17-16 lead, that seemed to flip a switch and the Orangemen picked up their game.

Brady Thompson, who was key in his goalkicking, put over a huge 40-meter penalty kick, which he had set up with a gubber and chase that forced a holding-on penalty. That made it 19-17, and then Cesar Battle came in off the bench to score the game=sealing try.

"It was a physical grind of a game," said Merrian. "Buffalo gave us their best punch, but we need to play better if we want to contend for a Liberty title."

Peter LePorin and Liam Hannah also scored tries for Syracuse, which now sits at 4-0, tied with Nazareth.

Binghamton Wins

Syracuse beat Binghamton a week ago and the chastened Binghamton worked hard at practice and welcomed back some injured players. The result was a 43-24 defeat of Brockport. Binghamton struck quickly in the match around the 8 minute mark with a try by No. 8 Andy Hines and converted by flyhalf Mike Davitt. A resilient Brockport attack immediately answered with a try at 16 minutes and another try and conversion two minutes later.

Rain plagued both teams through the first half and made ball-handling difficult. But at 33 minutes Binghamton scrumhalf Mike Drumm tied the game with a try and that's how the first half ended.

Brockport struck first in the second half with a try in the 46th minute. Binghamton freshman fullback Cody McEvoy joined the attacking line and raced untouched through the defense for a try in the corner and it was 17-17. On the ensuing restart a mishandled catch and poor tackling saw Brockport retake the lead 24-17.

But after that Binghamton took over. they fixed some of their defensive issues and that helped get them on the front foot offensively. Davitt scored a try to bring his side within two at 24-22. Then Davitt made a tactial change. His backline had encountered difficulties making inroads throughout the game and that was because Brockport was bringing their fullback up to back up his backline defensively. So Davitt started kicking into the space vacated by the fullback. Chasing down one of those kicks, wing Kevin Maynard made the change pay off and gave Binghamton the lead 29-22 with Davitt's conversion. Then Hines crashed through, and finally another kick and chase was executed, with Davitt tracking down his own kick. He converted, as well, and that was it, 43-24.

It was a good bounceback game for Binghamton and they remain in the conversation.

A Little Help?

Iona defeated AIC 48-17 and more about that game can be found here>>

Fordham improved to 3-1 with 63-8 defeat of Stony Brook. Senior hooker Chris Johnson scored four tries and was key in the mauls. Junior wing Giovanni Sabelli scored three tries.

Fairfield also improved to 3-1 and continues to be a thorn in many teams' sides. They lost to Northeastern the week before but bounced back well, showcasing some good defense and beating UConn 37-22. Fairfield wants to be in the top two of the New England Division, and got some help from Northeastern, which beat BC handily 50-20. Two tries from Ryan Connelly and tries from Sammy Sagherian and Matt Urrea set NU up for a 24-3 halftime lead. Sam Moyle, Urrea, Coleman Jackson, and Alex Chen all scored in the second half.   

The Coming Weeks

So that sets up this weekend. Buffalo (a somewhat unlucky 2-2) takes on 4-0 Nazareth. Fordham takes on AIC. But it's a week late, when Fordham faces Fairfield and Syracuse plays Nazareth in two games that will have much influence on how the standings end up.