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Written by Pat Clifton
Monday, 26 September 2011 09:19 |
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Metropolis, Buffalo Bolster Records in Midwest |
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Clubs -
Men's DI Clubs
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| Metropolis diving for a score. Dropkick photos
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There were just three games of real consequence in the Midwest this weekend. One was a 35-30 Buffalo victory over Cincinnati. Buffalo coach Ron Astridge said his team was happy to regain the respect of the Wolfhounds, to whom they’d lost 46-3 in August.
Nick Kusmierski booted Buffalo to the win with seven penalties, but no bonus point for four tries was gained. Cincinnati, however, did bag that bonus point, plus one for losing by seven or less. The Wolfhounds lead the trio of 3-1 teams and sit at first place in the Midwest East with 16 points. Detroit is second with 15 and Buffalo third with 14.
Metropolis avoided the upset in the West division, beating the pesky Blaze 50-27. The win didn’t always appear to be a guarantee, though.
“We started really slow. It was kind of opposite of the Lions game last week where we came out all guns blazing. We started a little slow and it took us a while to get into our rhythm and that was more so to do with their game than us not being ready,” said Metro coach Nate Osborne.
“They play kind of a scrappy game, trying to get quick turnover ball and spin it wide, and it kind of threw us off our game plan a little bit. Once we got settled in we played our kind of ball and put some points up.”
The third game of consequence was a possible relegation playoff, as Columbus and Indianapolis entered the contest winless. Columbus escaped the high-scoring fracas 48-40 winners.
There were no playoff implications in the battle of Chicago between the Lions and Griffins, but there was certainly pride, which the Lions captured as 16-5 winners.
The Griffins, however, did get the chance to blood several young players, including a young tighthead prop in Bryan Baskin, a 23-year-old from Iowa. Baskins assignment Saturday? John Vitale, who is considered one of the best scruammgers in the States.
“He held up very well, actually, but he also in his mind knows he was on a big learning curve, and he acknowledges that,” said Griffins head coach Wez Parkes.
“He picked up on a couple things (Vitale) was doing to manipulate him and dominate him. The kid is pretty mature in terms of being able to pick those things up and saying, ‘Hey I’m going to start trying to implement those in my own game.”
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Written by Jackie Finlan
Sunday, 25 September 2011 22:24 |
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Princeton Shuts Out Undermanned Yale |
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Colleges -
Women's College
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This weekend marked the first official Ivy League season for the women, and Princeton was happy to inaugurate it with a 60-0 win over visiting Yale.
Princeton controlled every aspect of the game, and the healthy lead allowed head coach Emil Signes to work in 27 players. Seven of those players were rookies, and they contributed nicely to the underclassmen’s performance – of the eight tries scores, only two came from a senior.
“We still have half a dozen rookies to get medically cleared,” Signes said of his burgeoning roster. “We also picked up two varsity athletes – one from softball, the other from golf – and they looked good. We have a good amount of experienced players, and all but three from the 7s squad that played at the CRC Championship are here. That experience has been very helpful; it exposes player to wide-open spaces and that translates to good decision-making.”
Good decision-making skills came in handy on Saturday, as Princeton spent the majority of time on offense. Under the leadership of captains Lauren Rhode and Janet Thomassen, Princeton ran in 10 tries: three from fullback Morgan Arthur, and one apiece from prop Abby Hammer, lock Mireille Pardon, flanker Janet Thomassen, No. 8 Dot Mittow, center Nida Leeuwenburgh and wings Kristy Giandomenico and Liz O'Grady. Rhode converted five of the 10 tries for 10 points.
“We played good defense when we had to,” Signes said, “but we had the ball most of the time. … [As we prepare for Harvard this weekend] We’re going to focus on defense and make sure we’re ready to play. Our offense is good, and our defense might be good, too – we just have no way to tell yet.”
Yale was handicapped before it even took the pitch. The team travelled with 14 players and is having some obvious numbers issues. Signes considered lending Yale some players, but the same scenario occurred last year, and Yale won with only 14 players.
“I’m more concerned about Yale's numbers this season than pleased with our big victory,” Signes said. “It's imperative that Ivy Rugby be stocked with strong teams.”
And for the most part, it is. Brown is the team to beat, and Radcliffe and Dartmouth will give Princeton the competition it needs to build toward playoffs. But Signes sees the bigger picture of the new league.
“It’s not better or worse,” Signes said of the level of competition compared to last year. “It’s more natural. Our alumni are happy with it. But we have back-to-back five- and six-hour trips, and that’s a haul. Overall it’s hard to say how it’ll work until we do it for a year.”
In addition to playing in this new league, Princeton et al will compete in an Ivy League 7s Championship at the end of the 15s season. Princeton will have a slight advantage over all of the teams, except Brown, which also participated in the CRC 7s Championship this June. But for now, it’s all 15s all the way.
“I haven’t even thought about it, to be honest,” Signes said. “As much as I would like to [integrate 7s training into practice], we have to keep the blinders on. We’re keeping our focus up and the emotional level of games high.” In other Ivy League news, Radcliffe defeated Columbia 34-0, and Brown toppled Dartmouth 41-12.
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Written by Pat Clifton
Monday, 26 September 2011 09:07 |
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Iowa, Minnesota Open Midwest With Wins |
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Colleges -
Men's DI College
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Is there a third team to be reckoned with in the Midwest? Wisconsin and Minnesota are the usual contenders, but Iowa has quietly won its way to a 2-0 start.
Both wins have come by a thin margin, 26-24 against Iowa State Sept. 10 and 18-10 against UW-Stout Saturday.
“Well, they were pretty close wins,” said Iowa coach Jim Lloyd. “We’re going to have to be competing. I would say (Wisconsin) might be the favorites and they’re coming in next week, so that’ll be a challenge for us. Stout was a young side.”
The Hawkeyes jumped out to a 15-0 first half lead off of two tries, a conversion and a penalty. Stout outscored Iowa 10-3 in the second stanza, but Iowa held on for the win.
“Our set piece improved versus what we did against Iowa State and we maintained possession,” said Lloyd, “but they made some adjustments at half and came out strong in the scrum and were a little bit fitter than we were.”
The Hawkeyes have tasted success before, says Lloyd, but attaining consistency has been a struggle.
“We finished second last spring at a men’s tournament in St. Louis to DIII national champs Metropolis, so we’ve shown potential, I would say, but we always seem to struggle in playoffs at the DII level.”
The Hawkeyes won’t be able to play the humble card much longer if they beat the Badgers Saturday in Iowa City.
Elsewhere in the Midwest, it was business as usual for Minnesota, 34-12 winners over Iowa State. The Gophers broke in a new scrumhalf, who is among four freshmen starters.
“He hasn’t found his voice yet. He can’t quarterback the team until he finds his voice,” said Minnesota coach Loren Lemke of his new No. 9.
“(The freshmen) hadn’t really seen college rugby. Just made some silly mistakes that hopefully we don’t mistake when the season’s a little bit older. We must have had five three-on-ones that we just squandered. You can’t do that on the next level, but things are looking alright.”
Minnesota travels to Stout next weekend, and UNI and Nebraska kick off their seasons in Lincoln, Neb. as well.
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Written by Jackie Finlan
Sunday, 25 September 2011 20:24 |
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ORSU Banks 2 Wins Over Weekend |
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Clubs -
Women's Clubs
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Women’s DI club teams in competitive region 1 are getting used to that one weekend per season when playing two league games is required. ORSU had its first back-to-back game weekend, something the team hadn’t dealt with during the two previous years it spent in the Women’s Premier League. With only 18 players traveling against two teams with which the squad wasn’t very familiar, ORSU was able to return home with two wins against Nor Cal Triple Threat and San Francisco.
“The first game was a bit tougher than we expected,” ORSU coach Jarred Power said of the 22-0 win. “Until the last 20 minutes, we were only ahead 5-0. We couldn’t get our offense going and played a lot of defense. We finally started to click after our second try, which built our confidence up.”
ORSU had some issues adjusting to the referee’s management of the breakdown, in particular his interpretation of when the ball was out. That meant a lot of penalties and an inability to sustain any go-forward ball.
“We had scoring opportunities that we didn’t capitalize on,” Power said. “We just couldn’t catch a break, had some knock-ons, and Nor Cal played a good game.”
But standout performances from Beckett Royce, who’s moved from flanker to flyhalf, and center San Juanita Moreno kept the team in check.
Heading into today’s match, ORSU didn’t know what to expect, especially considering how beat up the squad was. With only 18 people on the road, the absence of a couple of key players like former Beantown player Sharon Blaney, and the fact that San Fran had played Nor Cal to a 29-22 loss earlier in the season, today’s game could’ve gone either way.
But it only went one way, ORSU’s, as the team racked up 36 points by half and ended with 60-plus in the shutout.
“They had some good athletes, but were just a little disorganized,” Power reflected on today’s game. “We put a lot of pressure on them, too. That was part of our game plan.”
Royce is slowly to starting to settle into her new back position, and the former loose forward caused a lot of trouble for the opposition on defense. She’s showing her range around the pitch and scored four tries today. A new generation of flanker is working toward filling Royce’s spot, and rookie Molly Luft has been impressing Power so far. She only has a spring season to her credit, but she’s a gifted, natural athlete with a lot of potential.
Even though ORSU traveled light this weekend, it was dense with talent. The team has been lucky to make some advantageous acquisitions this year. In addition to Blaney, fellow Rugby World Cup hooker Lisa Butts has booted up with ORSU. And another flanker cum backline player, Nicole Garcea, has relocated to the region and brought her So Cal All Star experience with her.
With its toughest weekend gone, and its toughest game over (24-10 win over Seattle), ORSU can start looking ahead to the playoffs. The team is still taking each game as it comes, but taking the DI national championship is certainly on the team’s radar.
“It was tough for the two years we were in the WPL,” Power said. “We had one win. It’s tough to keep going, spending all that money and traveling and not coming away with a lot. We definitely tried our best but couldn’t pull it off.”
ORSU leads the CR1 and is now the only the undefeated team in the region. The Mudhens and Belmont Shore should provide ORSU with some nice competition to round out league season, but comparing scores, ORSU should come out on top.
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As the 2011 Rugby World Cup kicked into action in New Zealand veteran rugby teams from all over the world continued to enter in large numbers for the fifth World Vintage Rugby Carnival being held in Hawaii from September 23-30, 2012.
