SOUTH ORANGE, NJ (September 16, 2012) - The first road trip of the 2012-13 season saw the Vassar College Men's Rugby team notch up their second conference win as they took on the Seton Hall University Pirates in South Orange, NJ. The Ivy Hill Park field adjacent to the campus is a tough place to play with a vociferous crowd cheering but Vassar started well and quickly settled into a rhythm.  Maybe it was the long warm-up or perhaps the promise of a visit to White Castle but in any event Vassar scored first and last to win 27-5.

Vassar College 27 v 5 Seton Hall University
Tries: Jehan Shams (1) & Andrew Jdaydani (2).
Cons: Nick Graham (3).
Pens: Nick Graham (2).

Two years ago in a torrid game at Seton Hall the Vassar Men tied 16-16. Last Fall they dominated at home 49-7 defeating the Pirates, so it was with mixed feelings that the Brewers took the field in New Jersey.

There was a good deal more focus in this the second conference game of the year and the opening exchanges were direct and uncompromising. Zach Kent ran with determination and put in a textbook tackle to introduce himself to his opposite number the Seton Hall number 12. It allowed Vassar to apply early pressure and get good field position. But a series of penalties meant that the Pirates edged up the field. They too fell foul of the referee and from a lineout in the Seton Hall 22 the Brewers went through 3 phases before hooker Jehan Shams found a seam to dart through and score. Nick Graham's conversion gave Vassar a 7-0 lead.

A good crowd traveled to see the squad play and with parents, family members, Alumni, and friends encouraging the players Vassar applied real pressure in terms of territory and possession. Andrew Jdaydani was his usual industrious self while the forwards as a unit look tight knit winning good ruck ball. The backs too were efficient with the ball in hand although there were a few stray ill-advised passes. Seton Hall seemed to get frustrated as they could not get their hands on the ball and when they did there were multiple defenders to beat.

After some good re-cycling of the ball Joe Karpman went over for a try except that it was not awarded! All the players stopped playing as Joe lay on the ground with the ball in front of him grounded. But the referee's whistle did not blow and then Seton Hall players smothered him and it was deemed that he had been held up in-goal. From the ensuing scrum Jdaydani bulldozed his way over and Vassar led 14-0. Vassar let their foot off the gas and when there was a missed tackle Seton Hall broke away and scored to make it 14-5. Vassar gave away a couple of silly penalties for offside but the half finished with the
same score line. The Vassar scrum began to take a grip on the set piece and Seton Hall struggled to get clean possession.  Karpman was driving strongly on the loosehead side and the scrum would wheel around. The hot weather was taking a toll on the players and as both teams tired it was Vassar that managed to keep their shape. A penalty goal from Graham made it 17-5 and another later made it 20-5.

The main portion of the second half was attritional with Vassar monopolizing possession and no scores coming from either team. Elliot Baker and Zach Kent in the centers continued to run hard and attempt to get over the gain line and they did a pretty decent job. In the end it was Andrew Jdaydani who scored and Vassar was a deserved winner.

A win is a win but there were many errors that the Vassar team must eliminate. Karl Foley had an off day with his passing, Nick Graham will want to improve on his fielding of kicks, and all the players will see that they must be more disciplined when it comes to offside and penalties. It looks like being a hard week ahead.

Team: 15 Nick Graham 14 Jesse Myhill 13 Elliot Baker 12 Zach Kent 11
Ben Chipkin 10 Akeel St. Vil 9 Karl Foley 1 Joe Karpman 2 Jehan Shams
3 Dan Flynn 4 Ian Ruginski 5 Tom Rafferty 6 Nic Placeres 7 Alan Kenney
8 Andrew Jdaydani. Subs: Parker Reeves for Ian Ruginski (Blood).

Next: Sunday September 23, 2012 versus Sacred Heart at Vassar College
Farm kick-off 11:00 am
Overall record: 2-0-0.

Rookies So Close
The JV XV fell behind 12-0 but made a real fight of matters before bowing out 12-5. The mostly novice team all worked extremely hard and put in a lot of defensive work as Seton Hall gained a hard earned win.

Vassar College Men “B” 5 v 12 Seton Hall University Men “B”
Tries: Kyle Tam (1).

Up front Max Astruc was constantly making tackles and battling for the ball. He was supported well by Roman Kopit who carried the ball forward with pace and power. Alex Voynow punches well above his weight and he too was scrappy in the loose.  Zach Rippe had a monster hit that he will long remember and it was hard and fair.

In the backs Eli Vargas and Brian Heil looked dangerous from time to time and while Stoddard Meigs has a lot to learn this was a much-improved performance on the previous week. He was on the back foot most of the time but did manage to get his backs moving forward in the second half.

Vassar's try scorer was rookie Kyle Tam who latched onto a pass from Riley McCabe and the youngster went over to make the final 15 minutes a real dogfight.

Team: 15 Alan Hagins 14 Kenta Hasui 13 Brian Heil 12 Eli Vargas 11
Matt Choe 10 Stoddard Meigs 9 Jake Sheehy 1 John Winton 2 Alex Voynow
3 Parker Reeves 4 Roman Kopit 5 Zach Rippe 6 Max Astruc 7 Matt Brown 8
Jonathan Chu. Subs: David Kim for kenta Hasui, Kyle Tam for Matt Choe,
Louis Khourey for Zach Rippe, Austin Khym for John Winton, Matt
Montgomery for Matt Brown, Zach Kudman for Jonathan Chu, Eric
Santacruz for Alex Voynow, John Loree for Parker Reeves.