POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (October 17, 2010) -- In a must-win game, the Vassar College men's rugby team knocked off cross-town rival Marist College 19-15 with a go-ahead try in the final five minutes Sunday at the Farm.

Next week, the Brewers (4-1-1) face William Paterson University this Sunday, October 24 at the Farm in yet another must-win game. The kick-off is likely to be at 2:00 p.m. and hopefully there will be a big crowd on hand to cheer them on.

Brewers started like they were a good Super 14 franchise scoring a lovely try in the first 5 minutes. Vassar center Nic Placeres ran around the outside of the cover defense for the try. The Brewers continued winning ruck ball and gained field position but then seem to figure that they could take their foot off the gas! Marist are a good side and they had a very dangerous back division coupled with some big strong forwards. The visitors clawed their way back into the game, took the lead, and with just 5 minutes left was ahead 15-12. But James Purtle scored right under the posts and gave Vassar the slender 4 point lead. The home team still had to withstand a tremendous last surge from the Red Foxes before they could heave a sigh of relief.

Vassar's early try and fast paced start jolted Marist into action and it meant the the spectators were in for a humdinger of a game. Vassar led 5-0 only for Marist to make it 5-5 and then 10-5 and that's how it stood at the half. The two Marist tries were well worked as Vassar seemed to have them covered but the elusive and hard running centers made Vassar pay when tackles were not solid.

For Vassar, Garrett Montgomery was his usual nuisance and Ian Ruginski played very well running off the fringes and defending. Iain Gordon was effective and reliable. Purtle only had one out of body experience when he kicked the ball, otherwise he was rock solid.

In the second half Marist was hampered by a red card and played with 14 men for the final 25 minutes. Down to 7-men in the pack, Marist scrummaged very well and disrupted the Vassar platform. Vassar managed to get back into the game with some good picking and driving and a measure of ill-discipline from Marist. From a penalty Number 8 Gordon darted through and made it 12-10. But Marist wasn't done yet they marched back upfield and eventually scored going down the narrowside and it was 15-12 with less than a quarter of the game left.

The Vassar crowd got behind the lads and was rewarded with a grandstand finish. Some good fast ruck ball allowed Vassar to get in behind the defense and then Purtle saw the Red Sea open and made his dash for the line. He scored under the posts and with the conversion Vassar had a 4-point lead.

Vassar College Men 19 v 15 Marist College Men
Tries: Nic Placeres (1), Iain Gordon (1), & James Purtle (1).
Cons: James Purtle (2).

Team: 15 Rob Rooney 14 Zach Beauchamp 13 Nic Placeres 12 Karl Foley 11 Zach Wasser 10 James Purtle 9 Garrett Montgomery 1 Joe Karpman 2 Hal Moore 3 Tyler Blake 4 Andrew Massey 5 C. J. LeSueur 6 Ian Ruginski 7 Adam Steel 8 Iain Gordon. Subs: Zach Kent for Nic Placeres.

Vassar College Men "B" 5 v 20 Marist College Men "B"
Tries: Rob Rooney (1).

In a bruising physical encounter the Vassar men could only fashion 1 try in response to 4 from Marist. It was not through lack of effort or bravery as each player gave their all. But little mistakes when placing the ball in contact or opting to pass when a ruck would have sufficed led to their demise.

The pack was combative but undersized while the backs were well marshalled by an athletic and quick Marist three-quarter line. Jerry Dieudonne broke tackles and gave them something to think about while Brett Anker worked well for a first game at flyhalf. The former tackles and runs well and the latter has the ability to beat a man and distributed well.

Team: 15 Mike Ilardi 14 Jerry Dieudonne 13 Zach Beauchamp 12 Andrew Jdaydani 11 Hayden Moon 10 Brett Anker 9 Kris Adkins 1 Jehan Shams 2 Brian Carvajal 3 Brandon Greene 4 Sam Thomas 5 Jonathan Chu 6 Garrett Montgomery 7 Alan Kenney 8 Matt Elisofon. Subs: Rob Rooney for Kris Adkins, Andrew Massey for Sam Thomas, Zach Beauchamp for Garrett Montgomery.