POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (April 24, 2010) -- With scores from seniors Stefan Schwartz, Conor Boylan, and Jake London, the Vassar College men's rugby team ended its season with a successful Senior Day, defeating Stony Brook XV, 55-7 at the Farm on Saturday.

This was a game for the spectators to really enjoy as the ball was spun around and there were tries aplenty. Referee Carl Maresca handled the game well and players knew exactly where they stood with his decisions.

Special thanks are due to the Stony Brook University team as they filled in at short notice when Montclair State cancelled. It must be said that the majority of the Stony Brook starters were not able to play because they are involved in select side play. But the visitors ran the ball when they had the chance and played the full 80 minutes with total commitment. Vassar's seniors Stefan Schwartz, Conor Boylan, and Jake London all got on the score sheet and had some magical moments as they finished their collegiate rugby careers in style.

Vassar College Men 55 v Stony Brook University Men's XV 7
Tries: Adam Steel (1), James Purtle (2), Iain Gordon (2), Stefan Schwartz (1), Hal Moore (1), Kendall Coleman (1), & Conor Boylan (1).
Cons: Jake London (5).

The pressure of divisional games was certainly off and both teams made the effort to get the ball wide so there was plenty of action in this game. Stony Brook arrived a little late as traffic had been bad in the Bronx and Vassar caught them napping with an early try as Adam Steel wriggled over. The flanker was to have an interesting day but one he'll not remember as he was concussed later and sent to the hospital as a precaution. He'll need to watch the video to enjoy this one.

Next to score was Vassar Number 8 Iain Gordon and he did so with a real flourish as his dive from 5 yards out probably would have earned him a 6 from even a Russian judge! Vassar led 12-0 and the players obviously felt they had the measure of the visitors. But as is always the case just when you think you have got it there is a rude awakening. Stony Brook struck back with a good try and it was 12-5.

Although Vassar was having some difficulty in the scrums, being wheeled and sometimes even losing their own put-in, the Vassar backs were running hard and effectively at their less experienced opponents.

James Purtle at 12 has the running ability and tenacity to play and scored 2 tries, the latter in the second half was an absolute scorcher as he covered the length of the field, but he needs to have better vision and consistency with his distribution. In contrast Stefan Schwartz is all about subtle half-breaks and offloads and he too scored a brace of tries.

The Vassar flyhalf, Jake London, has filled in these last 2 weeks with Connor O'Neill being out. London's nickname is "Moose" and when he runs he thunders down the field daring defenders to tackle him. He attacked the Stony Brook defensive line all day and managed to break through tackles, swerve around defenders, cut inside defenders, and he distributed the ball to Purtle and Schwartz in a timely fashion. He had a monster game and also kicked 5 conversions.

At scrumhalf Conor Boylan was his usual mischievous self. He does some things that are crazy and others that are wonderful. He scored a lovely try toward the end and made some super attacking runs that had Stony Brook grasping at his shadow and it was great that his parents were here to see this winning display.

Other try scorers included Kendall Coleman, as ever jinking from side to side to avoid tacklers although in this instance he just walked over the line, and Hal Moore who has worked hard all year and he was the forward who touched down when Vassar drove a lineout some 15 yards forward on the right wing.

The Vassar team will face a stiff test next Saturday when the Alumni come back to town and they'll need all their teamwork to earn a victory on Founder's Day.


Team: 15 Brett Anker 14 Nic Placeres 13 Stefan Schwartz 12 James Purtle 11 Zach Wasser 10 Jake London 9 Conor Boylan 1 Tyler Blake 2 Hal Moore 3 Joe Karpman 4 Andrew Massey 5 CJ LeSueur 6 Ian Ruginski 7 Adam Steel 8 Iain Gordon. Subs: Nik Goldberg for Andrew Massey, Nick Campbell-Seremitis for Adam Steel, Jerry Dieudonne for Nic Placeres, Zach Kent for Brett Anker, Kendall Coleman for Zach Wasser, Alan Kenney for CJ LeSueur, Jehan Shams for Joe Karpman.

Overall record 2009-10: 6-10-1 .
Next weekend: Saturday May 1, 2010 versus The Alumni XV - Kickoff 12:30 pm