GREAT NEACK, NY (September 6, 2014) - Pre-season had finished and after 2 weeks of two-a-day practices the Brewers felt they were ready for their first test of 2014-15. In all 11 tries were scored on a sunny, hot, and humid day on Long Island as the Merchant Mariners hosted the Brewers. Like all first games there was plenty of rust and Vassar soon found out what they need to work on prior to divisional competition.
 
Vassar College Men 26 v 47 USMMA Kings Point
Tries: Nick Graham (1), Alex Voynow (1), Stoddard Meigs (1), Seamus Taylor (1).
Cons: Nick Graham (3).
 
USMMA scored 3 tries in the first 10 minutes of the game that not only put the Brewers behind the eight ball but also made a massive dent in their confidence. To be honest they were soft tries conceded, very soft.
 
The first was after just a few minutes and came from a wipers kick just outside the Kings Point 22. It caught Vassar fullback Seamus Taylor by surprise and when the ball bounced it went straight in to the hands of the USMMA center who scampered in down the left wing from 40 yards – 7-0. The second try after 10 minutes followed a good counter-ruck won by USMMA but Vassar's Nick Graham missed a tackle allowing the center to go through and offload for the score – 12-0. The third try came gift wrapped with a bow! Graham threw an ill-advised pass and it was intercepted with the Merchant Mariner running in from just outside his own 22 meter line – 19-0. It really could not have been a worse start for the Brewers!
 
It is interesting to note here that at the end of the game Vassar had scored 4 tries to USMMA's 7.
 
So, down 19-0 Vassar started to climb out the hole they had dug. But it was not before they had failed to kick a re-start 10 meters and then deliberately knocked-on a pass, that pushed them back. Following a USMMA infringement the Brewers caught and drove a lineout before releasing the ball to the backs. They managed to keep the ball and go through some phases without being turned over and flyhalf Nick Graham slipped through for a good try – 7-19.  Vassar scored next to make it 14-19 around the 30 minutes mark. Again from a lineout the ball was worked to hooker Alex Voynow and he did well to get over the line.
 
So it was game on and a one score contest. But there were cracks in the Vassar play that kept creeping in. The backs were slow to realign both in attack and defense; tackles were still being missed; knock-ons were too frequent, and ball was lost at the ruck through slow support. These issues would continue to haunt the team for the remainder of the game.
 
USMMA slotted a penalty when Adam D'Agostino was rather harshly penalized for not coming from an on-side position at a tackle and the margin was 8 points. The last 5 minutes of the first half Vassar had to play a man down as Nich Johnson was sent to the sin-bin for tackling a player from an offside position. Vassar conceded a try so it was 27-14 at the half.
 
USMMA were much sharper at the breakdown and that may in part have been due to the fact they had already played 4 games this year. They return to school in July so have had a good many weeks to prepare. But the Vassar lineout had begun to mal-function with 3 or 4 lost throws and it meant that field position and pressure was surrendered.
 
It would be important for Vassar to score first in the second half and they caught the kick-off and went through 6 phases before being turned over. The ball was swung away from the breakdown and the Vassar defense was stretched as the backs were caught the far side of the ruck. USMMA swiftly went through a couple of rucks and scored. At 32-14 there was still 35 minutes remaining but the Brewers looked out on their feet. It was as if they had expected a walk in the park and because things weren't going their way they did not want to work in the heat. It's OK to win ugly and what this team needs to do is battle every minute of every game and then see what the score-line reads.
 
A good try from Stoddard Meigs again brought the team back into the contest at 32-19. The Vassar set piece scrum went well throughout the game even when players were substituted and after USMMA had added a penalty and a try to lead 42-19 Vassar responded when Seamus Taylor, an all-action fullback, ran well to score Vassar's fourth try. USMMA had the last say and it was a sweat soaked Vassar 15 that departed the field.
 
The Brewers know they can create scores but they must address the breakdown rucking, improve their tackling, and get aligned much, much quicker – and that's just for starters!
 
Team: 15 Seamus Taylor 14 Nich Johnson 13 Stoddard Meigs 12 Eli Vargas 11 Jesse Myhill 10 Nich Graham 9 Jake Sheehy 1 Aam D'Agostino 2 Alex Voynow 3 John Winton 4 Matt Brown 5 Louis Khourey 6 Kenta Hasui 7 Erik Quinson 8 Geoff Matthes Subs: John Loree for Louis Khourey, David Wallach for Matt Brown, George Sheppard for Geoff Matthes, Joe Simon for Nich Graham, Sean O'Connell for Adam D'Agostino, Raleigh Smith for Stoddard Meigs, Wade Crouch for Erik Quinson.
 
Record: 0-1
 
Next week: Sunday September 14^th, 2014 versus Manhattanville College at Vassar College Farm, kick-off 2:00 p.m.

- Head Coach Tony Brown