Dartmouth wins a close one over UConn

by Tom Monahan '06

Saturday evening in Putnam, Connecticut, Dartmouth Rugby (1 - 1) kicked off against the University of Connecticut Huskies (0 - 2). While the Dartmouth team was never behind in the contest, their victory was not truly certain until the final whistle sounded.
The opening kickoff saw the sin-binning of a UCONN player for unsportsmanlike conduct and carrying on after the whistle. The men in green made the first strike in the 10th minute as Co-Captain prop Joe Boswell turned a masterful poach into a quick 30m line break. Boswell quickly dished the ball to lock Josh Weinberg who dashed the remaining 15m for the score-a missed conversion made it 5 - 0.

In the 12th minute another UCONN player found himself binned for foul play and the men in green again found themselves with a man advantage. The unsportsmanlike conduct from the Huskies would continue throughout the match. The Dartmouth team kept their cool however continuing to dominate both their own lineouts as well as UCONN's. The Dartmouth pack began to find their rhythm against a strong UCONN scrum and in the 36th minute a quick strike from the Dartmouth backline off of a scrum on the UCONN 10m gave center Mark Goodson the second score of the match. Fullback Andrew Caspary's conversion made the score 12 -0.

The offense continued in a back and forth fashion as each team tested the other's back three with deep probing kicks. With time expired in the first half, a UCONN wing made an excellent chip kick and fielded the ball on the 1m, stretching for the try. This made the score 12 - 7 at the half and left the Huskies hungry for more.

The second half continued as much of the first did with Dartmouth's dynamic wide attack being hindered by handling errors and UCONN's powerful forward attack being broken by punishing Dartmouth tacklers. In the 53rd minute of the match Dartmouth was awarded a penalty under the posts and Caspary punched in what would untimely be the deciding factor making the score 15 - 7.

In the 60th minute, the match reached fever pitch as UCONN strung together several phases with crashing balls to the forwards and eventually spun the ball out wide to the wing for a score making it a one point match at 15 - 14. The remaining 20 minutes became a battle of wills as each team pressed relentlessly for another score. The Dartmouth defense remained dominant in this endeavor as UCONN was rarely allowed to move the ball out of their half. The match ended with Dartmouth pressuring the Huskies deep in their territory with the final result being a 15 - 14 victory. The Dartmouth team now looks ahead to a strong Boston College side this Saturday in Hanover at the team's new Corey Ford Rugby Clubhouse. First XV Kickoff is tentatively scheduled for 1pm at Brophy Field.