POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - The visitors to the Farm took a lead that in the end proved just too much to overcome. The open field running of the Hofstra backs was a threat but they were aided by some very poor tackling and Vassar paid the price at the final whistle.
Â
An early score for Hofstra when their wing ran 60-plus yards and shook off 3 would be tacklers put Vassar on the back foot. It was not a good start and it didn't get better when they added a second to go up 12-0. Hofstra felt that if they could get the ball wide they would score and they had their tails up playing with confidence.
Not only did they offer a threat out wide with sheer pace but the forwards ran close off the fringes. It was a narrow attack that provided some contrast but as was proven in the second half it was containable. In fact so was the wider option as long as Vassar made their tackles.
A third try in the first half made it 19-0 before Vassar finally got on the scoreboard when
James Christensen collected a wayward kick and ran it back for a try. Cuson's conversion made it 19-7 and there was daylight at the end of the tunnel for the Brewers.
The scrum went well and Vassar pushed Hofstra back so kudos to
Ali Sadek and
Mike Cardenas for their work up front. But Vassar squandered attacking opportunities and got too involved with talking and refereeing. It led to errors and miscues that would prove critical come the end.
The Vassar fortunes were not helped when
Cole Landolt had to leave the field with a cut and the lineout did not function all day. A lineout platform would have been a great starting point but Hofstra disrupted matters.
In the second half the brewers tighten up and came roaring back in to the game. Driving up field and upping the tempo they clawed their way back in to the contest.
Norman Kuang and
Evan Roberts were to the fore accompanied by the forwards en masse.
Roy Ochieng scored as did
Evan Roberts and one felt the tide was turning at 24-14.
The effort was good from the Vassar lads but playing catch-up is always tougher and penalties or infringements at critical times would push Vassar back.
There were a host of lessons learnt from this game, most notably that the team must stick together and work for each other. Hopefully this as well as other tactical and technical components will be implemented in the weeks to come.
Overall record: 3-1-0.
Next: Sunday October 20, 2019 versus SUNY-Maritime at Vassar College Farm, kick-off 1:00 pm
