Montclair, NJ - After the first week loss to local rivals SUNY-New Paltz it was critical that the Vassar Men straighten out some serious flaws in their game. On a wet and dreary day in Montclair, NJ the team certainly made some positive strides and despite the poor weather conditions scored 6 tries while holding their opponents scoreless.

Vassar College Men 42 v 0 Montclair State University Men
Tries: Phil Knowlton (1), Rhese Fine (1), McCarthy Barber (1) & TJ Usher (3).
Cons: Rhese Fine (6).

It's tough to play at Montclair State as the field is small being narrow, it's turf and the multipurpose surface has a mix of lines with the rugby goal posts set back in the in-goal area. Added to these issues the weather was poor and conditions slippery. Vassar had 3 first year students playing their first ever game of rugby and a further 2 playing only their second collegiate game. In other words a third of the team were novices which meant that the more experienced players had to step up and be exemplary.

Vassar was able to generate quick ruck ball and get over the gain line which had the opposition back peddling. After 20 minutes and some good pressure from Vassar it was the simplest of scores as prop forward Phil Knowlton dived over from a short range penalty. It was a deserved score as Vassar had strung together phases and been illegally halted. Two minutes later it was the back division that got in on the act and a wide pass, well gathered by outside center Rhese Fine saw the speedster sprint over.

Vassar already had the blueprint for success and that was to maintain possession and go through quick phases. Montclair struggled to get back and align relying on individual efforts alone. 

At the 26 minute mark a lineout well won by Ken Kabeya saw the ball moved out. TJ Usher attempted to get around the defense but when thwarted he offloaded to fullback McCarthy Barber who ran a good outside line to score on the right wing.

The Barber try was a bit clunky in that the service from Kolesar was slowed, Usher ran a poor line and then decided to offload the ball however the finish from Barber was good. In retrospect it kind of summed up the Vassar performance - ball being won, a play or pattern initiated but not very smoothly, good effort and in the end it was enough to beat the opposition.

Fine was having a good day with the conversions and 21-0 became 28-0 when Usher finally scampered over. One more score before the half made it 35-0 as Usher again found space. But right at the conclusion of the half Montclair charged upfield and almost scored as Vassar's would-be tacklers fell off the ball carrier. MSU had some big lads and some speed.

At halftime the emphasis was on staying on track individually and not to worry about teammates but rather to focus on doing one's own job and doing it well. The tackling would have to improve as Vassar had left that door ajar and no doubt MSU would try to barge through. In addition the home team must have felt they could dominate the scrums such was the size differential. Vassar had to be prepared for that battle.

For most of the second 40 minutes the Vassar players did a better job of tackling and as MSU got more and more of the ball it was good that Vassar was up to that challenge. Every player had some good moments and the collective result was a solid win as TJ Usher broke free and danced over the line to make the final score 42-0.

There is still a tone of work to do but with a little bit of luck some players will be returning this week to the team. However, the formula remains the same, do the simple things very well and make your tackles if you want to win games.

Team: 15 McCarthy Barber 14 Bowie Graebner 13 Rhese Fine 12 TJ Usher 11 Will Hamilton 10 Marius Kruse 9 Anthony Kolesar 1 Phil Knowlton 2 Muhammad Muhammad Al-Shaebani 3 Ben Kaplan 4 Theo Rankin 5 Gene Waddy 6 Ezra Feddersen 7 Wren Alger 8 Ken Kabeya Subs: Cyrus Carlson for Theo Rankin, Brandon Jones for Wren Alger, Alex Gough-Schnapp for Ezra Feddersen, Josh Maddaloni for Will Hamilton.

Record: 1-1-0.

Next: Sunday September 27, 2026 Vassar College Men versus Fairfield University KO 12:00 pm