Rugby Heads to Nationals, Football Falls

By Thomas Monahan and Michael Fritz | Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Rugby

This weekend the Dartmouth Rugby Football Club was the runner-up in the Northeast Championship, clinching a spot in the National Championship to be held this spring. Before the Indians could face Army in the Northeast Championship Final on Sunday, they had to make it through a tough SUNY Buffalo team on Saturday afternoon in Amherst, Massachusetts.

In the match against Buffalo on Saturday, Dartmouth opened the scoring in the eleventh minute of the contest when a scrum on their attacking 22-meter line resulted in a well-run crash ball. The ball was recycled to junior center Aziz Sayigh. Sayigh streaked into the corner of the try zone and was able to center it. An easy conversion from co-captain fullback Andrew Caspary made the score 7-0. After repelling several Buffalo attacks into Dartmouth territory, the men in green took control of the match by marching down the field with a series of strong backline plays. Ultimately, a penalty in the seventeenth minute on the Buffalo 10-meter line gave Indian captain flyhalf Jesse Blom the score in the corner, making the tally 12-0. For the remainder of the half the teams settled in, both trying to run the ball on each other. Both teams played strong defense, and the backlines dueled for much of the contest. The University of Buffalo was able to come away with a penalty kick in the closing minutes of the first half to make the score 12-3 at the break.

The beginning of the second half remained a defensive battle, with both teams periodically driving deep into the opposing territory only to be pushed back or to lose possession. Dartmouth broke the stalemate in the seventieth minute when center Scott Penner took the ball to the corner of the try zone on a 30-meter dash for the score. The University of Buffalo was able to punch the ball into the try zone at the end of the match, as the scrumhalf dashed over a ruck to make the final 17-10.

With only an evening to rest, the championship match was held on Sunday afternoon in Amherst. Army came into the final match with a perfect record and the number one seed in the Northeast Rugby Union. Dartmouth came in as the number two seed with a record of 8-1. Dartmouth's only previous blemish on their season record came in a 30-25 loss at the opening of Dartmouth Rugby's new Corey Ford Rugby Clubhouse. The teams were set to clash yet again, but this time it was for the title.

While Dartmouth had great momentum coming into the game, the Indians faced a strong Army side and ended up on the short side of a 37-7 score. Dartmouth looked promising in the opening minutes of the game, retaining possession and driving deep into Army territory. But when Army managed to gain possession, they capitalized on a fractured Dartmouth defense and found the try zone. Despite continued Dartmouth offensive pressure, the Army defense remained a solid wall. Army managed to find the try zone again in the first half, and the Army kicker was accurate, converting both tries and kicking two penalties. The score was 20-0 at the half and Dartmouth went into the break still searching for a way to break the Army defense.

With the wind now at their backs, Dartmouth hoped to find more success in the second half against the Black Knights. However, the half did not open in favor of Dartmouth, as the Army 8-man took the ball from the back of a scrum. The quick recycle allowed Army to find the try zone again early in the half. Another try later in the half made the score 30-0. With time running out on Dartmouth's chances, wing Aziz Sayigh took the ball after a well-run lineout and got through the hands of the backline. Aziz found a seam in the army line and was able to turn the corner on their back three. "We knew that their one weakness was their speed out wide," said Sayigh, "and on this play we were finally able to exploit that." Fullback Andrew Caspary made good with the points making the score 30-7. With about fifteen minutes left in the match, it seemed unlikely that Dartmouth would be able to overcome the deficit in the confines of such a narrow pitch and under the pressure of a blistering Army defense. In the closing minutes of the match, Army was able to come away with a try, making the final 37-7.

While the Dartmouth men were disappointed with the loss, they were pleased to clinch the second Northeast seed in the 2006 Collegiate USA Rugby Championships. The runner-up trophy gives the men in green the number eleven seed in the round of sixteen to be held this spring from April 21st-23rd in West Point, NY. Dartmouth will face the #6 seed Midwest champions Ohio State in the first round. Dartmouth faced the brawny Ohio State side while on their April tour—in a tough loss during the first round of the 2005 Cal Invitational Tournament in Berkley, CA. The Dartmouth men certainly have a strong opponent in front of them—a fact that they will doubtless be pondering during this blustery Hanover winter.

Football

Dartmouth was defeated last weekend, 24-14, by the Brown University Bears of Providence, RI. The Brown men are riding on the back of their much-acclaimed running back, Nick Hartigan. Hartigan has been featured in USA Today, the New York Times, and was shown on ESPN's "Plays of the Week" for obtaining 4,000 career rushing yards. After posting 193 rushing yards and two touchdowns on Saturday, Hartigan received Ivy League offensive player of the week for the sixth time this season and strengthened his campaign for the Walter Payton award.

Brown drew first blood with a rushing touchdown from Hartigan. Dartmouth answered in the second quarter with a touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Ryan Fuselier. In the third quarter, following a Brown field goal, Dartmouth took the lead with Fuselier's second touchdown catch of the afternoon. The Indian's four-point lead going into the fourth quarter proved to be insufficient. With under twelve minutes left in the fourth quarter, Brown regained the lead after Hartigan's second four-yard touchdown run of the afternoon.

With four minutes left in the fourth quarter, Brown's kicker, Steve Morgan, missed a 27 yard field goal and gave Dartmouth an opportunity to regain the lead. Starting on his own twenty-yard line to potentially win the game, freshman Indian quarterback Josh Cohen was unable to evade Brown defenders and was sacked on three consecutive plays. On third down, Cohen lost the ball when he was sacked, and Brown recovered in the end zone to make the final score 24-14. Brown plays the utterly-hopeless Columbia next week to secure their sole possession of the Ivy League title.

Dartmouth faces Princeton this weekend at Memorial Field. Princeton is coming off of a devastating loss to Yale last weekend, which essentially eliminated their chase for the title. Nonetheless, the Tigers will be a challenge for the Indians, since both teams will be eager to finish the season with a win.

Rugby Heads to Nationals, Football Falls

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