Portsmouth, RI - The Vassar Men won their 3 pool games in the top 7s bracket at the Beast of the East Tournament and advanced to the semifinal stage where they faced Wesleyan University. In a real mudfest of a game with players struggling to keep their feet the match was tied 0-0 and went into "sudden death" overtime. Weirdly the overtime started with a scrum, Wesleyan still playing down the slope and after a huge defensive stand the Brewers were unable to prevent the winning score.
It was a real heartbreaker as last year Vassar was also knocked out at the semifinal stage having already beaten the eventual winners in pool play.
Full Results
Vassar College Men 19 v 7 University of Maine Farmington
Vassar took on the 2024 defending champions and was immediately forced back near their own goal line after a poor kick-off. But UMF fluffed a scoring chance and Vassar defended stoutly for multiple phases before conceding a try. It had been the worst possible start! But the team regrouped and moved the ball reasonably well at times but threw errant final passes. Then
TJ Usher burst around the outside and flew down the touchline and the game was tied at 7-7.
There was a measure of calm because the team realized that opportunities would come with better execution and that they did. Usher and
Ben Remy showed real pace when put away and the team was now 1-0 on the day.
Vassar College Men 14 v 10 Clarkson University Men
A very physical and speedy Clarkson team fell behind right at the opening kickoff as Vassar's Usher again went through for the Brewers. The physical size of the Clarkson players was a real threat but the Vassar team as a whole tackled very well.
Ezra Potts at sweeper had a good outing and showed real bravery. In a closely contested game Clarkson tied matters up and then went ahead 10-7. In the second half Vassar responded and at the conclusion with 2 tries each it was Tocher's conversions that proved the difference.
Vassar College Men 24 v 7 Bowdoin College Men
Arguably the best try of the day was scored by Vassar when the kickoff was caught and moved out wide, then brought back inside where it looked like the Brewers would continue to move the ball to the other wing but Luca Pereira Frears cut upfield making a beautiful line break. He was being chased down but offloaded to the supporting
Kaiden Tocher for a score right under the posts.
Vassar's scrum though much smaller was dominating with Tzepos and Pereira Frears getting very low. The team really put in a good shift and this victory gave Vassar a 3-0 pool record and the number 1 seed going into the single elimination phase.
Vassar College Men 0 v 5 Wesleyan University Men
This was a torrid affair with muddy conditions plaguing both teams. Vassar just couldn't settle and when the ball was worked wide Wesleyan had the pace to stop the attacks. Too many handling errors and a bit of tactical naivete was the downfall for the Brewers and 0-0 was the score at full time. Then came the bizarre finale of overtime which did not involve any stoppage, coin toss for choice of ends or possession! Wesleyan playing down a significant slope put the ball into a scrum and moments later the winger went over.
The Vassar team to a man had played their hearts out and it was a bitter pill to swallow.
Vassar College Men B 0 v 32 Hartford University Men
Vassar College Men B 0 v 41 Amherst College Men
The Vassar B-side 7 was entered in the Social Division at the Beast but unfortunately this was anything but a social division. A number of A-sides entered and going up against Hartford University A and Amherst College A in pool play proved a bridge too far.
Squad: Luca Pereira Frears,
Ezra Potts,
Dimitrios Tzepos,
Matheo Dwyer,
Kaiden Tocher,
TJ Usher,
Ben Remy,
Mark Gislason,
Ted Twitt,
Gene Waddy,
Max Czekaj,
Malcolm Oth,
Mariano Decarvalho,
Phil Knowlton, Ken Kaybeya, Tony Mwanga,
Samia Jaman,
Zhongjia Hou, and
Sriram Soundarapandian.
Next: Saturday April 19, 2025 Vassar College Men at the Williams College Invitational 7s Tournament.
