Eighteen teams got in on the this weekend as the Tri-State Men’s DII college conference really got underway. 

There were three games last week, but the nine this week put a new perspective on where each team is. Defending champs RPI won 20-0 over Union with four unconverted tries. Also winning in the North were Sacred Heart, 45-17 over Hofstra, and Siena, 46-15 over Marist - all of those games were in the Tri-State North.

“Marist has played us tough the last couple of years so this was a good result for us,” said Siena Head Coach Rich Scully. “We have a good group of experienced guys, and a really strong leadership group. It’s the leadership among the players that’s making the different.

Flyhalf Drake Sichak had a good day and scored three tries. The back row made an impact all over the field with Matt Demm and Eliseo Baldizzi making the breakdowns tick over. Ryan Powell controlled the back of the scrum well, also.

It was a good start for Siena, for sure, and they look ahead to Sacred Heart next week in a clash of two 1-0 teams. RPI takes on Hofstra and Union faces Marist.

In the Tri-State South, Seton Hall beat Montclair State 38-14, William Paterson beat NJIT by an almost identical score, and Molloy dispatched the College of New Jersey 26-14. 

In the Tri-State Central, SUNY New Paltz and Vassar both moved to 2-0. For Vassar, their 48-26 defeat of Bard was fairly workmanlike, but was not as dominate as SUNY Oneonta’s win last week.

The rain stayed away and under a cloudy but dry sky the Vassar Men ran in 8 tries to earn victory against a spirited but rudderless Bard team. The Annandale-on-Hudson school does little to support their rugby program but the soccer field used provided a good playing surface for the participants. Unfortunately, the surface was not matched by the temporary goal posts that were attached to the soccer goals. Given the margin of score it was of little consequence since a kicked made or missed here or there would not have altered the result.

Vassar got three tries from Joe Simon and two from Rob Eder, plus scores from Seamus Taylor, Trevor Kennish, and Nick Olkovsky.

Rookie No. 8 Eder ran confidently all afternoon and broke open the scoring early.

Despite the solid win, Head Coach Tony Brown said there were plenty of aspects of play that needed improvement. Ruck ball was too slow, which allowed Bard to reorganize on defense. Ball placement, too, needed to be better.

“The breakdown is a key area of the game and all players must understand the laws and implement good technique,” said Brown.

Taylor and Simon ran well in the backs, while the Vassar scrum was steady and provided a good platform for the threequarters to get into the game despite the wet conditions.

Bard got a couple of late tries after the subs came on.

“Now players have a baseline and some reference points established so that what happens in practice should have more meaning,” said Brown. “The important parts are that all had to face ball carriers, make tackles, and figure out where they were needed in both attack and defense.”