POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (September 14, 2008) -- In its home opener at the Vassar Farm on Sunday, the men's rugby team picked up its first victory of the season, a 48-0 shutout of visiting Hofstra University.

In the end it was a substantial victory for the Vassar men but for long periods of this game Hofstra challenged strongly and Vassar looked lethargic and at times inept. The number of knock-ons and set piece possession that gave the visitors the ball was significant. Vassar must be better in these areas if they are to have a good season. But 8 tries and 4 conversions put paid to the Long Island school's challenge.

Vassar College Men 48 v Hofstra University Men 0
Tries: Stanislav Genchev (1), Connor O'Neill (2), Ryan Keeble (3), Omar Fayyaz (1), Kevin Frodell (1).
Cons: Stanislav Genchev (3), Omar Fayyaz (1).

A good crowd was on hand to watch the Vassar Men open their 2008-09 season and under the watchful eye of former captains Garrett King and James Cantres the Brewers led 24-0 by half time.

But the early exchanges had Vassar on the back foot and Hofstra looked most likely to score. A couple of lineouts were lost and Vassar was on the defensive. The heat and humidity was a problem for all the players and one felt that both teams were holding back in an effort to pace themselves for 80 minutes. Referee Mr. Brad Kleiner of the Rugby Referees Society of New York stopped play midway through the first half for water and it was needed. He had a good game and both sets of players were full of praise for his service.

Vassar also squandered a number of early chances that against better teams could cost them dearly as they eventually applied some pressure territorially. A blindside move that was spoilt by a forward pass and a lackluster penalty play where the ball was held up. One felt that Vassar was going to struggle.

Then from a quick tap penalty Garrett Montgomery made good yards and when the ball was recycled it went blind to winger Stanislav Genchev who cut back across the grain to score. Then fullback Connor O'Neill stretched out after a few phases to make it 12-0 to the Brewers and matters were looking up for the home team.

At outside center Ryan Keeble had a day to remember. In all he scored 3 tries but the loudest applause was for a wonderful tackle he made clinging on to his opposite numbers jersey late in the second half. He has a good step and a fair turn of pace and the Vassar midfield looked far more threatening this weekend.

There was a long lull either side of half time when neither team showed much continuity. There were too many dropped passes and penalties given away. But Hofstra, down 24-0, managed to get inside the Vassar twenty-two and after a couple of scrums close they were awarded a penalty. They tapped and passed along their back division but it was labored and Vassar was up quickly to tackle. The ball spilled loose and Omar Fayyaz kicked ahead. He gathered after a very accommodating bounce and then ran the length of the field only to be brought down a couple of yards short. Good support from Roku Fukui meant that the ruck was won and Keeble was there to walk over the line. It was the final nail in the Hofstra coffin. With the space of 25 seconds they had looked like scoring and getting back in to the match and moments later they were a further 7 points adrift!

A further 10 minutes passed and down 29-0 Hofstra fell victim to a Kevin Frodell try from close range. Frodell more than deserved his score as his tackle count was undoubtedly the highest on the team.

As if to add insult to injury Vassar caught the ensuing kickoff, won a couple of rucks, and Keeble ran 55 meters down the middle after Connor O'Neill had come in to play 9 and Fayyaz threw a long miss pass to the outside center. At the very next kick-off Keeble caught the ball, it was recycled and then Fayyaz skinned a Hofstra defender on the outside and scored under the posts.

It was a nice way to finish but this Vassar team has to play with more urgency, pattern, and precision. They can't rely on individual breaks as they will certainly have to manufacture tries. The coming weeks will tell if they are prepared to put in the hard work and succeed.

Team: 15 Connor O'Neill 14 Stanislav Genchev 13 Ryan Keeble 12 Nick Schmidt 11 Roku Fukui 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. Subs: Kaedin Jemiolo for Aly Massoud.

Overall record 2008-09: 1-1-0.
Next weekend: Sunday September 21, 2008 v Marist College at Vassar College Farm, kickoff 1:00 pm.

Vassar College Men "B" 17 v Hofstra University Men "B" 10
Tries: Ben Conant (1), Danny Thomas (2).
Cons: Sebastian Jindra-Cotilla (1).

There was a real zeal for the game displayed by the Vassar "B" team and two well taken tries by Danny Thomas, formerly of Xavier High School, down the narrow side earned Vassar the victory.

But it was the performances of the rookie players that caught the eye. James Purtle continues to impress with his evasive strong running. Adam Steel in his first game ran well and Paul Tkaczuk too showed strength on the move. Up front Michael See rucked and tackled very effectively and Ben Conant, when he came on, was direct in everything he did. It was his try from close range that tied the game at 5-5 and then Vassar went ahead 7-5 with the conversion by Jindra-Cotilla. It was a lead they would never relinquish as Thomas and number 8 Anshu Uppal took advantage of the space afforded by the new laws at scrums.

A good win for the "B" team and now it's a matter of players deciding how much work they want to put in.

Team: 15 Adam Steel 14 Kornel Krysa 13 Paul Tkaczuk 12 James Purtle 11 Mike Ilardi 10 Sebastian Jindra-Cotilla 9 Danny Thomas 1 Guillermo Farias 2 Hal Moore 3 Barrington Archer 4 Dave Chase 5 Tyler Blake 6 Charles LeSueur 7 Michael See 8 Anshu Uppal. Subs: Ben Conant for Tyler Blake, Tony Pinggera for Kornel Krysa.

"B" side overall record 2008-09: 1-0-1.
Next weekend: Sunday September 21, 2008 v Marist College "B" at Vassar College Farm, kickoff 2:45 pm.