Dartmouth Wins Another Close Match at Northeastern

by Tumas Monahan

Dartmouth Rugby, the number two seed in New England Rugby Union, left Hanover on a picturesque autumn day to play the number three seed Northeastern University Huskies. While simple logic would dictate that the game would be played at the Corey Ford Rugby Clubhouse complex in Hanover, the new playoff scheme slated that the game be played in Boston on Saturday evening.

When the men in green arrived at the pitch there were two inches of snow covering the artificial turf and the rain and snow showed no sign of stopping. Dartmouth was anxious to prove themselves in these conditions and beat Northeastern on the home pitch for the second time this season. The Dartmouth team came out firing on all cylinders—as they pressured Northeastern in their defensive zone for the first few minutes of play, they ultimately came away with a penalty kick and three points off the boot of fullback Andrew Caspary. Play continued in a back and forth fashion following the restart. Both teams were successful in their kicking game as the sloppy conditions made fielding the ball difficult. Ultimately, a Dartmouth penalty while pinned down in their zone gave Northeastern the chance to tie it up.

Northeastern continued to press the Dartmouth defense as sloppy conditions made possession crucial. Dartmouth was able to make some strong surges into the Northeastern zone but they were again only able to come away with a penalty kick. With time running out in the first half, Dartmouth found themselves with their heels on the try line holding on to a slim lead of 6 – 3. Northeastern was awarded a penalty on the Dartmouth five meter line and elected to scrum. The Dartmouth scrum held up well however, and the men in green were able to turn back the Northeastern advance. Time expired with Dartmouth clinging to their lead.

The second half continued as a game dominated by defense. Both teams continually put the ball in the air, carefully testing the other team’s respective back three. Sloppy play saw some harrowing moments for Dartmouth in their end, but great individual efforts and strong play off of set pieces, kept Northeastern from being able to capitalize. Each team seemed to be waiting for the other to make a mistake or expose a weakness and in the 72nd minute a Dartmouth lineout was not thrown straight and Northeastern elected to scrum. A quick 8-man pick by Northeastern was spun out to the short side of the field and overloaded the Dartmouth winger; Northeastern found the corner of the tryzone to make the score 6 – 8.

At this point, urgency truly gripped the Dartmouth team and they rallied in impeccable fashion. Dartmouth pressured Northeastern in their defensive zone and with less than five minutes to play the Northeastern wing committed a vicious unsportsmanlike penalty as he stomped on the head of 8-man Joe Killefer. Dartmouth took a lineout deep in Northeastern territory and again was repelled. But the ensuing Dartmouth drive gave them possession and strong go forward deep in the Northeastern zone. Another Northeastern penalty gave Dartmouth the chance to go ahead with 2 minutes left in the match, and again Caspary was true. The match ended however in a more dramatic climax, as Northeastern was awarded a penalty 40 meters away from goal and slightly right of the posts with time expired. Given the opportunity to clinch the game the Northeastern kicker soiled the kick, sending a slight shot low and about 20 meters short. The final score remained 9 – 8 in favor of Dartmouth.

The Dartmouth men had won a barn burner, clinching their rightful second seed in the Northeast Rugby Union Championships. “Some might say that we underperformed on Saturday night, as we were hoping to put together a solid offensive game.” Said captain and spiritual leader Jesse Blom: “I disagree. Playing at Northeastern is always dangerous, and in Saturday's extreme conditions it was an especially daunting task. I am very pleased that we pulled out the victory. This week, we can practice outdoors again and begin working towards winning the Northeast championships.” The narrow win gives Dartmouth a home game Saturday at 1 on Brophy field against the winner of Syracuse and Binghamton. A victory on Saturday will give Dartmouth the second seed in the Northeast final four but they will play the winner Northeastern at Buffalo—either way they will be a hungry opponent. This makes getting to the finals a hard battle and with Army the likely finalist coming from the other side of the bracket, the Championship certainly will not be a simple task either. The primary focus for the team right now is improving at practice this week and preparing for a must with home match. The team is truly up to the task and is ready to play its best rugby as season builds to its final culmination in Amherst, MA on November 12th and 13th with the Northeast Playoffs.