Williamstown, MA - The last time Vassar played at Williams College was in April of 2007 and in similar circumstances, i.e. missing starters,  Vassar's Danny Thomas stepped up to play scrumhalf and did a heroic job guiding the team to a 12-6 win. This game was just as tight but Vassar had to come back from a 19-0 deficit after 41 minutes of play!

Vassar College Men 26 v 24 Williams College Men
Tries: Matheo Dwyer (1), Dimitrios Tzepos (1), Ted Twit (1), Gene Waddy (1).
Cons: (3).

This was always going to be a tough assignment with a number of players out due to injury or just being unavailable. Centers TJ Usher and Ben Remy were missing. Stand in fullback Owen McManus and flyhalf Mark Gislason are still out injured adding to the back division woes, so it was something of a patchwork backline that took the field. Up front the team lost lock forward Ki'tsai Zangpo after about 15 minutes as his back was causing him considerable discomfort. Then prop Caleb DiBartolo took a knock and was replaced. Finn Smith and Max Czekaj respectively went on for these players.

The home team, Williams College Ephs, started with a bang making big tackles felling the Vassar ball carriers and then breaking tackles when in possession themselves. Though Vassar began well enough going through a number of phases and getting over the gain line, it was immediately evident that the breakdown was going to be key. The Williams' players threw their bodies into the fray, were slow to roll away at the tackle and entered from every angle! Ball that was clearly won by the Vassar pack suddenly was leapt upon by an Eph and Vassar was penalized! It led to big territorial losses and considerable frustration.

But it was turnover ball that cost Vassar dearly. Two tries in the first half came from simple missed tackles after loss of possession. In addition, the Williams tacklers had managed to rattle the Vassar players with their physicality and a number of high tackles. One such tackle led to a yellow card but others went unpunished which fueled the fear. Vassar actually had a significant territorial edge over the first 40 minutes but apart from being held up in goal once, the Brewers struggled to reap any reward. So Williams led 12-0 at the break and Vassar had to regroup.

The team reset at halftime and determined to tighten up their game, not be flustered by the chaos of the defenders at the breakdown and stay on script. However, the start to the second half could not have been much worse, as flyhalf Ted Twit was intercepted and now Williams led 19-0. What had seemed a manageable deficit of 12 points was now a 3-goal margin.

To their credit the team kept plugging away and it was Matheo Dwyer that opened the Vassar account with the team's first of 4 tries. At 19-7 Vassar kept pressing forward and was deep inside the Williams 22 when the ball was ripped away and 15 seconds later Williams led 24-7. An impressive length of the field try by Williams probably led to the home side feeling that the game was done and dusted.

But Vassar had a clear plan and the next score came from an unlikely source.

Dimitrios Tzepos, "Mr. Utility" who has played prop this season and was in the second row and flanker last year, had done an admirable job in the first half at inside center on this gloriously sunny fall day. It was Tzepos who scored next with a determined run and one could sense the change in momentum as the Vassar players started to believe this game was there for the taking.

Williams began conceding penalties and Kaiden Tocher put in two monster kicks of 40 and 50 yards to give the Brewers great field position. The only problem was that the referee awarded the lineout throws to the defending team! Undaunted Vassar kept pounding away and now the scrum was finding an edge causing severe disruption to the home side's ball.

Then came the red card for a high tackle and Williams had to play with 14 men. Vassar pressed forward and Ted Twit exacted redemption for his 41st minute pass when he went over under the posts and it was game on at 24-21. The Williams team was now fighting a rearguard action much like Napoleon's retreat from Russia and there was only one likely outcome. Fittingly, it came in the form of a forward drive following a lineout and sophomore Gene Waddy got his name on the scoresheet. The rookie player was mightily relieved as he had lost the ball in contact earlier in the half when Vassar was in desperate need of possession.

But the enduring memory is that the entire Vassar team kept working and trying despite all the setbacks. Luca Pereira Frears at prop never waivered, scrummaging, picking and tackling; Tocher kept winning lineouts and running hard; Samia Jaman was also always running on to the ball at pace; Max Czekaj found his feet in this his first season of rugby and ran strongly; Mariano Decarval0 was like a terrier with and without the ball playing fullback, made a number of good penetrating runs and kicked 3 of 4 conversions; Center Ezra Potts was a rock in the outside channel. 

Now leading 26-24 Vassar had to see out the remaining 4 minutes of the contest and that was done well enough. The team knew that the win was a tad ugly but there was considerable satisfaction in coming from so far behind and that it was achieved with known and practiced processes. Williams has some strong open field runners and players who made big tackles and one has to believe that once their rookies get more experience every team should beware their talent.

The Brewers were scheduled to play at Fairfield next weekend but that game is canceled. An alternative opponent is being sought so please check the website this week.

Team: 14 Zhongjia Hou 13 Ezra Potts 12 Dimitrios Tzepos 11 Ken Kabeya 10 Ted Twit 9 Matheo Dwyer 1 Luca Pereira Frears 2 Jack Gibberd 3 Caleb DiBartolo 4 Gene Waddy 5 Ki'tsai Zangpo 6 Samia Jaman 7 Mariano Decarvalho 8 Kaiden Tocher.
Subs: Finn Smith for Ki'tsai Zangpo, Max Czekaj for Caleb DiBartolo, Sriram Soundarapandian for Zhongjia Hou, William Taaffe, Sahaj Sharma, Rajveer Singh & Zachery Imhoff.

Unavailable: Ben Remy, Anthony Koleser, & Nico Reyes Cardoza.
Injured: TJ Usher, Mark Gislason, Owen McManus & Justin Lederer.
JYA: Kiran Mullen, Eli Schair-Rigoletti, Phil Knowlton, Gabe Slavin & Jojo Goldin.

Record: 6-0-0

Next: Saturday October 5, 2024 TBA (A).