By
Tony Brown
Head Coach
POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (March 29, 2008) -- In Poughkeepsie only a few miles separate Vassar and Marist and for lengthy portions of the game the teams were similarly close. But Vassar took most of their chances scoring 8 tries whereas Marist was less efficient. However, there were two or three huge tackles in this match and Marist can lay claim to the best two monster hits of the game.
Vassar College Men 46 v Marist College Men 17
Tries: Omar Fayyaz (1), Dan Kalmus (1), Garrett King (3), Rupert Johnson (1), Luke Parker (1), Chris Magnani (1).
Cons: Jake London (3).
Maybe it was the fact that his Mom was on the touchline watching one of his last games as a Vassar student, or perhaps it was just that he wanted to keep warm, but in any event Vassar captain Garrett King stamped his mark on this game scoring 3 glorious tries and rampaging on defense.
Vassar's number 8 and captain scored 3 tries versus Marist.
Vassar was up for this game and Marist ran hard at the outset having caught the kick-off but the Vassar fringe defenders made their tackles and eventually turned over the ball.
Another huge contributory factor to the final result was the dominance the Vassar front 5 established in the scrums. Marist was under the cosh at every scrum as Clement, Rubesin, and Kalmus drove them back mercilessly.
Omar Fayyaz on the right wing fumbled a couple of early passes but given a third opportunity he cut back against the defense to give Vassar the opening try. Then Dan Kalmus bulldozed his way over from 10 yards out bouncing back the tackler to a loud cheer from the crowd. After 10 minutes Vassar led 10-0 but it was the latter part of the half that belonged to number 8 King. He scored Vassar's third, fifth, and sixth tries running at pace from scrums. The Marist blindside flanker will have nightmares for the remainder of the spring season and in them all he will see is just a blur of grey speeding past him and on to the goal-line!
The Vassar back division was without regular starters James Cantres and Tom Szymanski, so sophomore Jake London and veteran Nick Schmidt stepped in and did an admirable job. Their job was made easier because flyhalf Conor Boylan made a lot of good decisions and rather than shipping the ball to them when under pressure he took responsibility and made some hard yards.
It was also good to see senior Matt Wise back on the field after missing the fall and likewise Will Thanhauser who had been studying abroad. Both are terriers around the field and they tackle so well it is an inspiration to the whole squad.
Marist scored 3 tries and did so by outflanking the Vassar defense on each occasion. Twice it was a result of the Vassar backs allowing a player to run across the field and essentially missed tackles. The Red Foxes deserved their scores as they constantly battled in every phase of the game.
Vassar needs to build on this game and improve their defense in open play as they target the end of spring tournament, The Big Apple Classic. This was to have been played in New York City but the venue has been switched to Brentwood on Long Island - an hour from the city.
Team: 15 Stefan Schwartz 14 Omar Fayyaz 13 Nick Schmidt 12 Jake London 11 Connor O'Neill 10 Conor Boylan 9 Chris Magnani 1 Winston Clement 2 Jeff Rubesin 3 Dan Kalmus 4 Nick Mason 5 Rupert Johnson 6 Luke Parker 7 Matt Wise 8 Garrett King. Subs: Garrett Montgomery for Connor O'Neill, Will Thanhauser for Matt Wise, Kevin Frodell for Jeff Rubesin, Rhys Bambrick for Dan Kalmus.
Overall record 2007-08: 9-3-0.
Next: Wednesday April 2, 2008 versus Albany University kickoff 4:15 pm.
Vassar College Men "B" 22 v Marist College Men "B" 5
Tries: Garrett Montgomery (2), Mario Arthur-Bentil (1), Chris Magnani (1).
Cons: Garrett Montgomery (1).
The Vassar scrummage was solid and like the first game of the day Marist was shunted backwards at the set piece. At number 9 Garrett Montgomery was very busy and while he didn't always take the right option he was still a threat running and beating opponents. He scored two tries from close range but had to beat defenders to earn the points.
The interesting component of this game was the 10 and 12 combination. The unavailability of some backs meant that Aly Massoud and Davis Wang were pressed in to service at 10 and 12 respectively. Normally they play at 7 and 8 so this was a big adjustment for them to say the least. Both did a very good job by keeping things simple, being decisive, and running hard.
Mario Arthur-Bentil scored Vassar's second try. He alertly picked up a loose ball from the back of a ruck and dived over. He still has to be more disciplined when lining up at rucks and mauls defensively but it's good to see the big lad involved this spring. Vassar lock, playing flanker, Iain Gordon, may not have gotten on the score sheet but he had a good game as he tackled anything that moved. Rookie Eric Schub came on at the half and slotted in at prop. He was effective right from the get-go and it's a pity he didn't play all his 4 years at Vassar.
Team: 15 Danny Thomas 14 Anthony Pingerra 13 Mike Ilardi 12 Davis Wang 11 Richard So 10 Aly Massoud 9 Garrett Montgomery 1 Guillermo Farias 2 Kevin Frodell 3 Rhys Bambrick 4 Dave Chase 5 Mario Arthur-Bentil 6 Nate Orians 7 Iain Gordon 8 Anshu Uppal. Subs: Chris Magnani for Garrett Montgomery, Eric Schub for Guillermo Farias.
