NEW PALTZ, NY (October 23, 2011) -- The short trip across the mighty Hudson was made all the more pleasant as the Vassar College men's rugby team not only made amends for a loss last Spring to New Paltz but they also secured first place in the conference as the regular season concluded. But there is no time to dwell on this success as next weekend the Conference playoffs begin. Vassar is hosting the top four teams and will play William Paterson University at 10:15 am. The other match-up is between Marist College and Fairfield University. It may be cliche but the Brewers have now reached the business end of the season and they need to win to avoid a road trip to upstate New York on November 5th.

Vassar College Men 35 v 12 SUNY-New Paltz Men
Tries: Andrew Jdaydani (1), James Purtle (1), Adam Steel (1), & Jerry Dieudonne (2).
Cons: Brett Anker (5).

Overall record: 6-1-0.

Next week: Sunday October 30, 2011 Vassar hosts the Met NY Conference Tournament. Vassar plays Willam Paterson University at 10:15 am while Marist and Fairfield play at 9:00 am.

In glistening sunshine and with the beautiful backdrop of the fall leaves Vassar began with real purpose and determination. The New Paltz field is a little narrow and not the full length so missed tackles are quickly punished. New Paltz gave away some early penalties as the vassar forwards pressured their line and after about 5 minutes Andrew Jdaydani sprinted through when Adam Steel alertly tapped and passed. Brett Anker kicked the conversion and it was 7-0. In fact Anker was to have an excellent day with the boot converting all 5 Vassar tries and he also ran intelligently in open play.

Although down 7-0 New Paltz was playing down the slope and started to gain some territory. The Vassar defense managed to stop a series of attacks as the New Paltz forwards picked and drove and when the ball was shifted wide the backs one on one tackling was good.

Vassar's flyhalf James Purtle took matters into his own hands when, following a long break out by Jdaydani that relieved the pressure, he split two defenders and went over on the right side for a 14-0 Vassar lead. But New Paltz responded well and a simple line break in the 13 channel produced a try and it was 14-7.

New Paltz put together some driving lineouts and had their tails up but it was Vassar who scored next when scrumhalf Adam Steel went over. He has worked hard to improve his game this season and he is a terrier at the base of the scrum. So, at 21-7 Vassar still needed to play well but had the lead and a 14 point cushion.

Vassar leaked a try and it was 21-12 but then  a further 2 scores from winger Jerry Dieudonne put the game in the record books. Dieudonne is having a good year and is difficult to tackle although he will be the first to admit that maybe another two opportunities went begging as he dropped passes!

Team: 15 Nick Graham 14 Jerry Dieudonne 13 Zach Kent 12 Akeel St. Vil 11 Brett Anker 10 James Purtle 9 Adam Steel 1 Joe Karpman 2 Hal Moore 3 Tyler Blake 4 Andrew Moore 5 Ian Ruginski 6 Alan Kenney 7 Nic Placeres 8 Andrew Jdaydani. Subs: Dillon Tyksinski for Alan Kenney, Karl Foley for Zach Kent.

Vassar College Men "B" 26 v 0 SUNY-New Paltz Men "B"
Tries: Jehan Shams (1), Dillon Tyksinski (1), Karl Foley (1), & Nick Graham (1).
Cons: Nick Graham (3).

There can be no doubting that with consistency in selection comes continuity of performance. But for that to happen the players must trust each other and still perform within the context of the team patterns. This team showed real shape and purpose and quite literally imposed themselves on their opponents. They ran out deserved winners scoring 4 tries and not allowing New Paltz to cross the goal line.

Micheal Nishimura was at his spinning and twisting best as he broke the gain line frequently. He probably owed quite a lot of that success to the fact that flyhalf Nick Graham, aka Mesi, had kept the ball on multiple occasions and thus kept the defense honest. Graham too performed well although he did slip off the odd tackle which is worrying. Karl Foley in just his second game at 9 is showing what a versatile player he is and both the halfbacks scored which was only right.

Up front the slightly smaller Vassar pack was solid and destructive. The front row of Greene, Shams, and Flynn more than held their own and all ran well off the fringes. It was also good to see Dillon Tyksinski back in action and both he and Parker Reeves were direct and aggressive and that sent an important message as Vassar sought to gain ground.

Jehan Shams scored Vassar's first try and he remained hungry throughout with his usual side-stepping and 360 degree spins to the fore. Tyksinski got Vassar's second near the posts and with Graham's conversion it was 12-0. A third try right after half time from Foley put the game out of sight as New Paltz struggled to get possession. The last try of the day came from Graham who darted through the fragmented New Paltz defense.

All in all it had been a battle but the quality of the ball and the strong physicality of the Vassar team prevailed.

Team: 15 Myles Jarrett 14 Kenta Hasui 13 Tom Rafferty 12 Michael Nishimura 11 Miguel Salcedo 10 Nick Graham 9 Karl Foley 1 Brandon Greene 2 Jehan Shams 3 Dann Flynn 4 Joe Karpman 5 Jonathan Chu 6 Alan Kenney 7 Dillon Tyksinski 8 Parker Reeves. Subs: Andrew Moore for Alan Kenney, Tyler Blake for Andrew Moore, Brett Anker for Joe Karpman, Akeel St. Vil for Dillon Tyksinski.