GRR: Fairfield University
Brown and Fairfield won two key games in the Liberty Conference Saturday.
Brown took a big step toward being top dog in the Liberty NCR D1 with a 31-23 defeat of Iona Saturday.
Both teams entered the game undefeated in the conference.
Brown’s defense did well to frustrate Iona, especially in the first half where they took a 24-9 lead.
It’s going to be a fun time in the Liberty Conference this season.
Yes it’s true that Brown is the defending NCR D1 champion, returns several of the players from that team, and appears to be ready to reload. But other teams are working their way forward, too.
Brown won the Liberty D1 conference Saturday night, defeating AIC 33-14.
Brown took the lead within the first few minutes behind a surging forward pack. The pressure forced a penalty which led to a lineout and a maul. The game remained 7-0 for about 15 minutes. Much of that was AIC on the front foot, but Brown's defense was very good.
Fairfield pulled off what can fairly be described as an upset, beating Iona 41-20 in Liberty Conference D1 play.
Iona played well early on and led 20-17 despite struggling to get much possession. But their discipline and patience wore thing in the second half.
Marist defeated Hofstra to win the Tri State Conference Men's 7s Championship Sunday, making it a 15s-7s conference double for Marist.
Hofstra made the final with a 31-0 defeat of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the semifinals, while Marist held off Fairfield 30-19 to make the championship game. The Fairfield team entered into this tournament was their development side.