- Head Coach Tony Brown
POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (October 4, 2015) – Leading up to this weekend the talk was all about three things: Hurricane Joaquin, England versus Australia at the World Cup, and Vassar's Tri-State Conference opponents, undefeated Marist College. Would Hurricane Joaquin bring massive downpours of rain and a possible cancellation of the local derby game against the Red Foxes? Why were the bookies making England the favorites? Could Marist get back to winning ways against Vassar after 3 straight losses to the Brewers?
As things turned out it was a picture perfect day. The sun was shinning, there was blue sky, warm temperatures, a gentle breeze, and a good enough performance by the home team to earn a win with a bonus point.
Vassar College Men 39 v 12 Marist College Men
Tries: John Loree (2), Eli Vargas (1), Joe Simon (1), Louis Khourey (1), Zach Rippe (1), & George Sheppard (1).
Cons: Gary Garcia (2).
In the fall of 2014 Vassar defeated Marist 39-14 and in fall 2013 the Brewers won twice, 34-12 and 11-5. But prior to these 3 victories Marist had won 3 in a row in 2012-13. This is and always will be a good old-fashioned derby since both schools are located in Poughkeepsie. Both teams entered the contest undefeated and will more than likely see each other again in the playoffs.
The Vassar forwards may have been the smaller pack but they quickly established that they could win their own ball and provide a platform from which to operate. In part this was due to the fact that Marist opted to not contest rucks except with a single poacher but also the good quick support of the Vassar 8 denied them that opportunity.
The first Vassar try came following some quick thinking from John Loree who tapped and went over. The senior is enjoying his role this year but needs to get into more rucks rather than just be a ball carrier! Vassar led 12-0 after Eli Vargas split the defense with some strong running after receiving a pass from scrumhalf Gary Garcia. Vargas ran hard all afternoon and had a good day at the office picking up extra yards after the initial contact. He will be disappointed with a couple of dropped passes so that should provide food for thought this week.
Gary Garcia is learning on the job and doing reasonably well. He made a couple of searing breaks to get well in behind the Marist defense and his distribution was more consistent this week. He also put in some solid tackles.
Marist managed to get the ball a few times following turnovers and they had a period of territorial dominance that eventually led to their first try. A Vassar player was penalized for a high tackle and Marist kicked deep in to the Vassar half. They punched off the fringes of the rucks to score but it has to be said that the Vassar defense was giving them easy yards by not using the chop tackle. This will have to be addressed in practice for improvements in this area are essential.
Vassar responded well and once again it was John Loree who took the initiative at a penalty and went over to make it 17-5. Then the half finished with a good try as Joe Simon went around the defense and it was 22-5.
The second 40 minutes had too many errors and turnovers from both teams interrupted the flow of the game. It was important for Marist to score first to get back into the contest but it was Vassar that further extended the lead. Despite losing a lineout Vassar drove the Marist pack back just 10 yards out from the goal line and somehow lock Louis Khourey got his hands on the ball and leaped over the line. It was a well-deserved try for the senior who toils away in the engine room of the scrum and he'd missed last week's game with a broken nose.
The 27-5 score line became 27-12 after Marist got possession from a wayward Nick Olkovsky pass. The Vassar flyhalf made a number of good tackles but still needs to work on his distribution and get more accuracy and consistency. Left wing Sam Lehn was found wanting when he lined up too narrow and was beaten to the outside and a couple of phases later Marist scored close to the ruck. Vassar was still 3 scores up but the team needed to re-establish control.
The Vassar forwards kept it tight and the ball was driven down the field methodically so when Zach Rippe scored it was really a try for the entire pack. The clock was winding down and at 32-12 Marist could not get back into the game. They persevered and chased the game but there were too many speculative passes that went astray. Vassar's George Sheppard scored the final try. Sheppard, an Englishman, may find some small consolation after his country's defeat at the hands of Australia!
Team: 15 Joe Simon 14 Charlie Hooghkirk 13 Seamus Taylor 12 Eli Vargas 11 Sam Lehn 10 Nick Olkovsky 9 Gary Garcia 1 John Loree 2 Adam D'Agostino 3 John Winton 4 David Wallach 5 George Sheppard 6 Justin Nam 7 Josh Espada 8 Zach Rippe. Subs: Wade Crouch for Justin Nam, David Wallach for Louis Khourey.
Overall record: 5-0-0
Next week: Saturday October 10, 2015 at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute – Kickoff 1:00 p.m.
Vassar College Men "B" 7 v 31 Marist College Men "B"
Tries: Charlie Hooghkirk (1).
Cons: Stephen Kpundeh (1).
The Vassar "B" side was buoyed by the presence of a good front row as props Josh Maxwell and Dale Lord looked to have the beating of their opposite number. Freshman hooker Louis Brown probably needs to get black cleats because his fashionable bright green pair are virtually luminous in the tunnel of the scrum and make it easy for a referee to penalize him for foot up!
But the concern for the Vassar "B" side was the lack of tackling. Maxwell put in a good first big hit and bravely Kushin Merkherjee got low to bring down some big lads but overall it was a case of white gloves and directing traffic! There is no hiding place on defense for players must make their tackles.
Time and time again the Marist rookies broke the gain line and Vassar was scurrying back to rebuild a defensive line. It was a hard slog for the Brewers for even when they did get the ball they didn't hold it for very long.
Down 19-0 at the close of the first half they did tighten up somewhat and only conceded 2 more tries while scoring one for their own account. A final of 31-7 was a fair reflection of the game.
Team: 15 Trevor Kennish 14 Stephen Kpundeh 13 Caleb Zachary 12 Cole Fisher 11 Gino Ruiz 10 Charlie Hooghkirk 9 Romeo Ardimento 1 Josh Maxwell 2 Louis Brown 3 Dale Lord 4 Razvan Stanescu 5 David Wallach 6 Kushin Mukherjee 7 Russel Spiro 8 Wade Crouch.
--VASSAR--
