SOUTH ORANGE, NJ (October 3, 2010) -- Although the Vassar College men's rugby led Seton Hall 13-5, they could not hang onto the lead and the contest ended in a 16-16 tie Sunday afternoon.

The Brewers (2-1-1, 2-0-1 MET NY) host Sacred Heart this Saturday, October 9 at 1:00 p.m. at the Farm.

A tie is such a disappointment. Vassar led 13-5 and had played some promising rugby in the first half but they came up against a staunch and stingy Seton Hall team who kept the ball in the second half and restricted Vassar's opportunities. The Hall battled their way back into the game and then took the lead 16-13 with about 8 minutes left. To their credit Vassar worked the ball down to the Seton Hall goal-line and then had to settle for a tie as James Purtle kicked the points. But there was definitely a feeling of the glass being half empty!

It had been a stop-start affair that lacked any consistent fluidity particularly in the second half. The first covers offside. Vassar was able to win quick ball at rucks and they should not have been penalized for this skill. Such was the case as defenders were allowed to play the ball immediately it was out despite not having been behind the back foot of the ruck. Just because the ball is out of a ruck doesn't mean any player has rights to it. Granted this was difficult as the rucks were very quick, but when a ball emerges and is passed immediately to a runner coming at pace and then that runner is blasted by a defender as they catch the ball it's safe to assume they are offside.

The other law concerns the lineout and a November 2009 IRB Ruling in Law clarification states:

" ...a receiver cannot run into a gap in the lineout until the ball has left the hands of the player throwing in." Yet Seton Hall ran their receiver into the lineout before the ball was thrown where he was then lifted. It is also doubtful that the player that took the receiver's place was able to drop the required 2 meters either but that is secondary.

Although Vassar may have complaints about these areas they have only themsleves to blame for the 2 tries they conceded. The first was an interception 10 yards from the Vassar goal-line, enough said. The second was when Seton Hall ran a set play from a lineout and the Vassar defense failed to make tackles. Both teams in this contest dropped the ball over the line in the act of trying to ground the ball and Seton Hall missed 2 kickable penalties.

The Vassar scrum and lineout functioned well enough but the team lost faith in itself for the better part of the second half. The Brewers had the lead but played as if they were chasing the game. They seem to abandon their fast rucking game and let the referee's decisions affect their play. It was a great pity as now they will most likely have to win out all their remaining divisional games to earn a playoff spot.

Vassar College 16 vs. 16 Seton Hall University
Tries: Tyler Blake (1) & Iain Gordon (1).
Pens: James Purtle (2).

Team: 15 Zach Kent 14 Kendall Coleman 13 Nic Placeres 12 James Purtle 11 Zach Wasser 10 Dillon Tyksinski 9 Garrett Montgomery 1 Joe Karpman 2 Hal Moore 3 Barrington Archer 4 Tyler Blake 5 C. J. LeSueur 6 Ian Ruginski 7 Adam Steel 8 Iain Gordon. Subs: Brett Anker for Zach Kent.

Vassar College Men "B-Side" 58 v 7 Seton Hall University Men "B-SIde"
Tries: Matt Elisofon (1), Rob Rooney (3), Jerry Dieudonne (1), Jehan Shams (1), Brett Anker (1), Andrew Massey (1), Zac Hays (1), Karl Foley (1).
Cons: Brett Anker (3) & Andrew Massey (1).

This was quite simply inspirational and probably the biggest margin of victory for a Vassar "B" side ever! Certainly in the last 16 years has no Vassar "B" team scored 58 points. And this was a true Vassar "B" side as the Fall 2010-11 squad is currently 2 sides and more strong.

There are accolades galore to go around and all the scorers deserve their moment of fame. But the lasting impression one has of this game is of a team of novice players out-rucking and out-thinking a much bigger team. Truth be told the Seton Hall players were also rookies but in this clash of the inexperienced Vassar ran them ragged.

Rob Rooney, second game ever at 10, was like a pinball constantly finding the bumpers and hitting the double-score targets and it was he who led by example in attack and defense. Would that this Vassar lacrosse player had played before this semester! Matt Elisofon plays well above his weight and he bulldozed over for a try. The work of Zac Hays, aka Pumpkin, was outstanding but then when you wear orange cleats then it had better be the case! He fended off tacklers and ran with real purpose. In the backs Zach Beauchamp has the uncanny ability to slip through the smallest of gaps and he was well complimented by the strong running Karl Foley. Brett Anker scored a lovely try and has great hands while Kris Adkins ran the show at 9. Rarely has he seenm that much ball.

In addition the whole team put in the huge physical effort defensively to deny the Hall any real forward progress. Brandon Greene, Jehan Shams, and Brian Carvajal were always abrasive and Shams was sent from the field for a stiff-arm to a smaller player!

The game was played in a good spirit, something of a contrast to the "A" game, and unless I hear from any alumni this score will stand as the biggest winning margin for a Vassar "B" team.

Practice this week should be very, very interesting.

Team: 15 Evan Obligin 14 Jerry Dieudonne 13 Zach Beauchamp 12 Karl Foley 11 Jonah Orr 10 Rob Rooney 9 Kris Adkins 1 Jehan Shams 2 Brian Carvajal 3 Zac Hays 4 Brandon Greene 5 Jonathan Chu 6 Sam Thomas 7 Alan Kenney 8 Matt Elisofon. Subs: Brett Anker for Evan Obligin, Andrew Massey for Sam Thomas, Parker Reeves for Alan Kenney.