Poughkeepsie, NY - It was a must win Conference game for the Vassar Men's Rugby team on a beautiful sunny day at the Farm. But the focus of the team was just to try and put in an improved performance on previous weeks. It wasn't always pretty and certainly some old demons surfaced but for the most part it was a step in the right direction. Vassar needs to finish in the top 4 of the conference to obtain a semifinal spot.

Vassar College Men  43 v 21 Hofstra University Men
Tries: Ted Twit (1), Phil Knowlton (1), Eli Schair-Rigoletti (1) Sam Hoover (1) & TJ Usher (3).
Cons: Mark Gislason (4).

The matchup between Vassar and Hofstra has been pretty keenly anticipated by both teams these past few years. In 2022 Hofstra put a licking on the Brewers 80-12 but the following year in 2023 Vassar traveled to Long Island rank underdogs to play for the Tri-State Conference title and even though the team fell behind and then went down to 14-men the result was a solid 47-31 win and the Conference title. Last year Hofstra came to Poughkeepsie and redemption was on their minds and Vassar was thumped 67-19. So, to this year, and again Hofstra was favored but the Brewers jumped out to an early lead and held on to win 43-21.

The game had been switched to Vassar on account of Hofstra being unable to get medical coverage and the visitors were further disrupted when a traffic accident delayed their arrival. But once underway it was clear if Vassar managed to keep their structure and defend resolutely this would be a game within reach.

Initially, the tackling was not up to standard but in attack there was some adherence to what has been practiced. The game management is still far below what is needed to take control of a match but it was there in spurts.

Despite being outweighed both up front and in the backs the Vassar forwards coped well with the scrums and lineouts. The Vassar backs could've done a lot better defensively and will need to be much more committed with their one on one tackles.

However, Ted Twit cut a nice line and then stepped the fullback to score Vassar's first try. The extras were provided by Mark Gislason and a lead of 7-0 was just the start the Brewers needed. Shortly afterwards Phil Knowlton went over from close range and he deserved the try for all his hard work in the loose. 14-0 was looking good but this team is not one that can rest on its laurels. 

A set piece move from a 5-meters scrum saw Eli Schair-Rigoletti score to make it 19-0. His afternoon was patchy with some missed tackles and drops but he does try hard with ball in hand.

First year student and player Sam Hoover will probably not score another easier try in his life than the one he collected today. Hofstra ran from their own line but the ball spilled loose and the rookie was on hand to scoop it up and dive in for the try. Vassar players were probably pinching themselves having a 24-0 lead and still with some time left in the first half.

It had not been all plain sailing and there were plenty of unforced errors. Stolen lineout ball was thrown around like confetti; white line fever struck the lineout drives; some awful tackling allowed Hofstra to break the line or get around the outside; and scrumhalf TJ Usher ran around in circles a few times and was slow to distribute the ball from the rucks.

The team had 3 freshmen in the starting lineup and all acquitted themselves well. On the wings Sam Hoover and McCarthy Barber shone brightly, mainly with their defensive work as they tackled anything that moved. In the front row Sawyer Bivins didn't take a backward step in the scrums and he worked hard in the loose. It is early days for these players but in 3 or 4 years they will have served their apprenticeship and it'll be interesting to see where the team is then.

The second 40 minutes Hofstra outscored Vassar 3 tries to 2 but given that first half lead of 29-0 the Pride was always chasing the game. 29-0 became 29-7, then 36-7 and 36-14 and 36-21 but Vassar had the final word. TJ Usher ran in a set piece play to make it 43-21 and Vassar now has a realistic shot at making the conference semifinals

That said, there is one last regular season game on Sunday, October 26th, as the Brewers host Seton Hall University at 2:00 pm. That too is a must win and again Vassar must focus on process and significant improvements.

Team: 15 Kiran Mullen 14 McCarthy Barber 13 Ted Twit 12 Eli Schair-Rigoletti 11 Sam Hoover 10 Mark Gislason 9 TJ Usher 1 Ben Kaplan 2 Phil Knowlton 3 Sawyer Bivins 4 Max Czekaj 5 Jojo Goldin 6 Luca Pereira Frears 7 Samia Jaman 8 Kaiden Tocher. Subs: Marius Kruse for Ted Twit, Miles Yum for Samia Jaman, Ken Kaybeya for Ben Kaplan.

Record: 4-4-0

Next: Sunday October 26th, 2025 Vassar College Men versus Seton Hall University Men at Vassar Farm KO 2:00 pm