GRR: Liberty Conference
UMass and Boston College will face off in the Liberty Conference DIAA final after both won semifinals over the weekend.
Once again UMass unleashed their stifling defense to get past Columbia.
"It was a grind," said UMass Head Coach Phil Ciccarelli. "But it was a great team effort."
Siena will take on Brown in the Liberty NCR D1 final next week after both teams won semifinals this week.
Siena played rivals Iona for the second time this season, coming away with a 28-14 victory.
In a meeting of unbeaten teams in the Liberty DIAA Conference, UMass beat Boston College 20-13 to improve to 6-0 and drop BC to 5-1.
With the victory the Minutemen should be tops in the Liberty East which should set them up for a semifinal against Columbia, while BC will face off with Binghamton.
Siena defeated Iona Wednesday night in a make-up of a game that was canceled due to lightning back in September.
Iona went into the game 3-1 with Siena at 4-0.
Siena's offense was firing and they ran out to a 41-21 lead at halftime.
The team teams each scored two tries in the second half to cap it off, but in the end Siena won in a big-scoring game 55-33.
NCR's D1 playoff picture ...
Ten teams will be in the playoff, with four teams participating in play-in games on November 11, and six teams going directly to the quarterfinals on November 18.
2022 NCR D1 Quarterfinals
Thomas More 70-21 Fairfield
St. Bonaventure 29-24 Indiana
Brown 27-7 Wheeling
Queens 33-14 AIC