Atlantic North Produces A Slew of Tight Finishes
American Rugby Premiership:
In a back and forth affair Life managed to outlast Mystic River, 28-22. The Running Eagles got out to a 21-0 lead just after the start of the second half. Mystic River then returned the favor going on a streak of their own, scoring 22 points in a row. Life, however, had one trick left up their sleeve and crossed for the game winning try in the 74th minute of the game.
In the annual remembrance cup match up, it was Old Blue that squeaked out a tightly fought win over their major rivals, NYAC, 36-34. The two sides went back and forth all game. Each time Old Blue scored NYAC was right there to answer. Eventually it took a penalty with time expired for Old Blue to secure the win, and get their ARP campaign off to a flying start.
Women’s Division II:
Empire
New Haven Old Black was able to score at will over the weekend, beating the Fairfield Yankees, 63-17.
Three tries in just over 20 minutes helped the Mad Hatters build an insurmountable lead and get their 2018-19 campaign off to a winning start, taking down Morris pride, 26-7.
After a close start to the game, the Village Lions were able to double the score of Brooklyn Rugby, taking the spoils, 34-17.
Uticuse Hellbenders vs. Ithaca Avengers: 56-15. In a battle of Central New York, the Hellbenders raised all sorts of trouble for the Avengers, Amber Codiroli scoring three tries on the day.
Monmouth renegades vs. Union County Rugby: 38-0. The Renegades blanked their fellow New Jersians, Union County, 38-0.
New England:
After a scoreless first half between the Charles River Rats and the Hartford Wild Roses, an offensive explosion occurred. It was the Charles River Rats, who brought the most dynamite coming away with a 22-15, victory.
Portland had two individuals with standout efforts that helped them walk away with a win against Amoskeag this weekend. Sadia Crosby and Addison Carvajal both scored three tries on their way to locking up a 53-21 win for Portland.
Burlington flexed their muscles in attack and defense over the weekend beating Upper Valley Valkyries, 57-0. Providence put in a similar effort against North Shore Rugby as they shut their opposition out, and scored 87 points.
Men’s Division II:
New Jersey:
Arthur Michael and Milan Orlocvic both scored two for the Montclair Norsemen as they continued their strong start to the season beating Princeton Athletic, 46-28.
Matthew Kaltenbach put on a show, scoring all of Monmouth’s 19 points in their 19-12 victory over Morris Rugby .
Nick Wallace crossed four times for the Union County Mud Turtles on their way to their, 48-15,victory over the Bayonne Bombers.
New York City:
Brandon Solomon was on fire for New York Rugby, crossing the line twice and setting the standard for the rest of his squad on their way to a comprehensive, 40-12, win over the Village Lions.
It was all one way traffic for the men from Fairfield, Connecticut. They raced out to a 17-3 lead within 20 minutes of the match and never looked back. Old Blue D2 was able to claw within five points but that was as close as they got. Final score, 32-17 to Fairfield.
In a relatively low scoring affair Lansdowne was able to establish an early lead in the first half, and despite some fight back from White Plains, held them off and locked in their first win of the season, 25-13.
New England:
South Shore Anchors raced out to an early 12-0 lead in the first ten minutes, but Newport responded with 39 unanswered points, creating a buffer for them to ride out for the rest of the game. Newport remaining undefeated to the tune of 51-26.
A tightly contested affair was won by Worcester, 17-10 as they were able to sustain possession and territory against the Hartford wanderers.
Most of the damage was done in the first half, when the Mystic Barbarians were able to open five try lead against Portland , eventually winning 73-19.
The Men from New York’s capital knocked off Amoskeag, 44-31. It was a close game until the final five minutes when two tries to the Albany Knickerbockers saw Amoskeag suffer a heart-breaking loss.
After a first round loss the Boston Irish Wolfhounds rebounded a nicely, to put away cross town rivals, Boston rugby 39-20.
Men’s Division III:
New Jersey/Long Island:
Last year’s Division III National Runners Up, Long Island picked up where they left off, demolishing the Union County Mudturtles by 101 points, 108-7.
In an all Jersey clash it was North Jersey that showed off their pedigree against Morris Rugby, 95-0.
New York City:
What was a dream start for the Gotham Knights, quickly turned into a nightmare. After scoring in the first five minutes, the Knights then conceded 42 unreciprocated points to Old Maroon Rugby. They scraped some points back but the damage was done, 42-19.
From the first whistle until the last the match was only ever going one way, Brooklyn dominating their borough rivals and starting their new year off with a bang, taking down the Rockaway Fishheads, 39-15.
New York/Connecticut:
Danbury ran out to a quick 17-0 lead, but Greenwich clawed back scoring two tries in three minutes to draw within 3 points. That is as close as they’d get, finishing the game 27-21 in favor of the Mad Hatters.
Saratoga scored a point a minute in the opening 30 minutes of the game, against White Plains, to take a commanding hold on the game. 53-14 was the final tally.
Upstate:
It was a close first quarter but Buffalo D3 scored 33 consecutive points to seal the result against the Southtowns Saxons, 40-12.
Rochester Aardvarks D3 vs. Rochester Colonials: 28-32. Jacob Goss, of the Colonials, crossed in the 73rd minute to snatch victory away from the Aardvarks.
South Buffalo Rugby D3 vs. Ken-Ton Misfits: 14-53. Abraham Baker for the misfits created a rare sight, a prop scoring a hat-trick.
Genesee Creamers vs. Binghamton Barbarians: 17-5. Tight scoreline, but the Creamers were always in control of the match.
New England:
Providence won a lop sided affair, 59-3. Despite conceding the first three points of the match to Freedom, they went on to score the next 59.
Burlington opened the match at a blistering pace scoring 28 points in 20 minutes. It was enough to establish enough distance between them and the Springfield Rifles to ride out the rest of the match. Eventually winning 30-26.
Boston Maccabi’s ability to score in bursts was what put them by MIT over the weekend. In two separate 10 minute bursts Maccabi outscored MIT a combined, 26-0. These spurts allowed Maccabi to win 37-12.
New London County was just too strong for Upper Valley beating them heavily, 52-14.
North Shore Rugby beat Mad River/Stowe Rugby by the slimmest margin possible, after Tim Wilkinson slotted a conversion in the 75th minute to put his side up by one. Final score 29-28.
Charles River Rats secured a bonus point in the first twenty minutes, and from there Old Gold didn’t stand a chance. River Rats won 66-24.
