FAIRFELD, CT (October 12, 2008) -- In a day which saw the lead change hands ten times, the Vassar College men's rugby team fell to Fairfield University, 36-34, in Fairfield on Sunday. "It is some consolation that they pick up a bonus point for scoring four tries and a bonus point for losing by less than seven," said head coach Tony Brown. Sophomore Garrett Montgomery (Elizaville, NY/Germantown Central) led the Brewers with two tries.

This was a very, very tough loss for the Brewers. They scored 5 tries on the road and led by 10 points with just 12 minutes remaining. It had been a seesaw contest with the lead changing hands 10 times. Some lovely rugby was played and tries truly earned. Referee Harley Griffiths kept a stern grip on the game and it meant that both teams were able to play rather than scrap. A game that was great fun to watch but a result that was hard to swallow.

Vassar College Men 34 v Fairfield University Men 36
Tries: James Purtle (1), Omar Fayyaz (1), Garrett Montgomery (2), Ryan Keeble (1).
Cons: Miles Fineburg (3).
Pens: Miles Fineburg (1).

Talk about a thriller! There was never a dull moment as both teams set about with an attacking approach. Fairfield ran everything and surprisingly opted to kick in behind as they went forward. Vassar punched through and supported well.

The Fairfield scrum had a significant edge early on and then they seemed to fade. But when crunch time came they disrupted a couple of Vassar put-ins and it produced mistakes.

Vassar led 5-0 when some very swift handling by Omar Fayyaz put over James Purtle on the left. But then Fairfield picked up a poor kick and counter-attacked to go up 7-5. The Fayyaz was involved again and he slipped through to put Vassar ahead 12-7. Not to be outdone Fairfield struck back and after a fine conversion kick from the touchline it was 14-12 to the home team. So it was clear after the first 20 minutes that this was going to be a ding-dong battle.

Vassar's close forward play was good and it had to be because Fairfield was making plenty of big tackles. But they infringed and so Vassar slotted a penalty to go ahead 15-14.

The Fairfield backs were getting a real head of steam up as they came from very deep and if they held their passes they looked very threatening. Another Fairfield try and then one right before the half from Garrett Montgomery, Vassar scrumhalf, and it was a 22-19 lead for Vassar at the half.

Fairfield struck first in the second 40 and went ahead 24-22 and then Vassar's Ryan Keeble scored a lovely try to put Vassar in the driving seat 27-24. Montgomery added another try and with the conversion it was a 10-point lead 34-24.

But Fairfield showed a lot of character and they stormed back down in to the Vassar half. They scored 2 tries in those last 10 minutes, as Vassar wasn't able to kill the game off.

The Brewers earn a bonus point for scoring 4 tries and another for losing by less than 7 points but they will need some help in the next 2 weeks if they are to qualify for the playoffs.

Team: 15 Connor O'Neill 14 Miles Fineburg 13 Ryan Keeble 12 Nick Schmidt 11 James Purtle 10 Omar Fayyaz 9 Garrett Montgomery 1 Winston Clement 2 Kevin Frodell 3 Rhys Bambrick 4 Mario Arthur-Bentil 5 Rupert Johnson 6 Aly Massoud 7 Will Thanhauser 8 Iain Gordon.

Overall record 2008-09: 3-3-0.

Next weekend: Sunday October 19, 2008 v Sacred Heart University at Vassar College Farm, kickoff 1:00 pm.

Vassar College Men "B" 5 v Fairfield University Men "B" 42
Tries: Omar Fayyaz (1).

In the final game of the day Vassar did show some good pattern at times and certainly there was a massive effort given by all. But the speedy and athletic Fairfield players were generally on the front foot.

The scrum in the first half went very well and both Alex Koechlin and Barrington Archer are improving. The backs too gave it their all and there were flashes of good play from Thomas, Genchev, and Steel.

Team: 15 Brian Carvajal 14 Kornel Krysa 13 Adam Steel 12 Omar Fayyaz 11 Mike Ilardi 10 Stanislav Genchev 9 Danny Thomas 1 Barrington Archer 2 Hal Moore 3 Alex Koechlin 4 Dave Chase 5 Tyler Blake 6 Andrew Massey 7 Charles LeSueur 8 Kaedin Jemiolo. Subs: Andres Gutierrez for Barrington Archer, Guillermo Farias for Alex Koechlin, Nick Schmidt for Omar Fayyaz, Miles Fineburg for Stanislav Genchev, Barrington Archer for Andrew Massey.