If you were going to pick any favorites to win the Liberty D1AA Conference, there’s a good chance you might be rethinking that choice.

Northeastern? A team coming from the D1 level? They lost. Boston College? A team that made the NCR D1AA semifinals a year ago and seemed to have strength as well as depth? They lost. SUNY Binghamton? A team that has been in the playoffs before? Well … yeah you get the idea.

There were some surprises this weekend.

Yale vs Boston College

Yale won well over Boston College 30-7. This was a massive achievement for Yale and put the rest of the conference on notice.

Scrumhalf Mateo Farina, flyhalf Tarn Timmermans, inside center Andrew Chiles, No.8 Liam Varela, and flanker off-the-bench Jack Pankey all scored tries for the Bulldogs.

“We had a dialed-in three weeks of practice with progressions made in the two preseason games versus Coast Guard and a tough UConn team,” said Yale Head Coach Craig Wilson. “We have had over 40 players at every practice, which has helped drive competition for starting places while building our depth. The significant contributions of the coaching staff—Marc Downes, Nikita Guryakov, Matt 'Sparkles' Callan, Bob Huscher, and Liam Quinn—have been immense.”

Add to that the fact that Yales two conference losses last year were both very close, and Yale seemed poised to do well.

“In the week leading up to BC, the focus and energy at practice were excellent,” added Wilson. “We had a clear vision of how we wanted to play, and I was pleased with how the players transferred practice to the field.”

Lock Diego Valacco and flyhalf Tarn Timmermans made huge contributions in the win, while captain Liam Varela has been immense as a vocal leader and leader by example. But Wilson said Yale also felt that they left some scoring chances unclaimed.

“We cannot accept leaving points on the table, especially in a very tough conference,” Wilson said. “I was pleased with our defense, and that's something we pride ourselves on. We have only conceded three tries in three matches.”

Wilson also pointed out that after the win, the Yale players were calm and composed. They weren’t jumping around, but accepted the victory as the expected outcome for a confident team.

“In the huddle at the end, we patted ourselves on the back for a job well done and acknowledged a good win but the conversation was already focused on playing Northeastern next week.”