Atlantic North Sees Tight Finishes as Teams Battle For Position in the Standings
With another weekend of league matchups set in the books, we are going to take a look at all the action that took place in the Atlantic North divisions.
Men’s Division I
After nearly knocking off New York City rival Old Blue last week, NYAC engaged in another grinding battle against Boston foe Mystic River. This one came down to the wire, in which NYAC barely squeaked by with an eight-point differential, winning, 40-32. This places NYAC at 1-2 for the season and leaves Mystic River trying to jump start their season now having fallen to 0-3. For the other division I matchup, Old Blue traveled out to Georgia to take on Life. This was another thriller as it went down to the final whistle, but eventually Old Blue came out on top against a tough Life team 33-27, moving Old Blue ahead to 3-0 on the season and solidifying their first-place spot.
Women’s Division I:
In the one match that took place this weekend for the Women’s Division I Atlantic North, Philadelphia took on Boston and this was a lopsided affair. Philadelphia struck within the first minute of the game, and did not take their foot off the pedal. The final score was 64-7 in favor of Philadelphia. This win gives Philadelphia their second win of the season and sits them on top of the standings for the division. Next week Charlotte takes on Albany.
Men’s Division II
Starting in the Empire Leagues, New Jersey’s Monmouth Rugby had a decisive win over Princeton Athletic 69-12. In a much tighter matchup the Bayonne Bombers, edged out a close one over Montclair 30-29. In the final match of New Jersey’s Empire League, the Union County Mudturtles managed to fend off Morris 38-27.
Moving over to the New York Empire league games, White Plains put a thrashing on the Village Lions 50-7. New Haven also handled their opponent, Lansdowne, easily 39-17. To finish off New York’s Empire league play, the Fairfield Yankees pulled out a hard-fought victory over New York Rugby 34-31.
Recapping the Great Lakes division, Buffalo trounced the Syracuse Chargers 64-7. In another rout, the Cleveland Crusaders handed a tough loss to their opponent, South Buffalo, 46-14. Wrapping up the Great Lakes matches, the Rochester Aardvarks and Pittsburgh Forge had a closely contested match, but the Aardvarks nestled out a 31-27 victory.
In the New England region. Newport took down the Irish Wolfhounds 34-17. Boston Rugby managed to secure a nice victory over Hartford 32-12. South Shore annihilated Portland 52-5. Worcester knocked off the Albany Knickerbockers 38-12. Finally, Mystic River defeated Amoskeag, 48-5.
Women’s Division II
There was one nail-bitter this week for the Women’s Empire division II matches. The Danbury Mad Hatters squeezed out a win with a late come from behind try against New Haven, 26-24. The rest of the games were lopsided blowouts. Union County took down Suffolk 50-0. The Village Lions breezed past their competition, Long Island, 65-5. Morris had a tough weekend when they came up against Monmouth Rugby. In a close affair Monmouth gave Morris a run for their money, but Morris narrowly escaped, 21-12. The Rochester Renegades demolished their weaker opponent, Ithaca, 70-5. And last but not least, Brooklyn Rugby put on an absolute show as they cruised to a 91-0 victory over Uticuse.
In similar fashion to the Empire league, New England also had a nail-bitter this weekend as Worcester took on Hartford. Worcester took the lead early in the second half, and then played strong defense for the remainder to secure a victory, 19-14. The rest of the schedule was pretty lopsided affairs. Portland beat North Shore 36-0, Amoskeag defeated Upper Valley 45-15, and Burlington nudged past Charles River 29-10.
Men’s Division III
Starting things off with a bang, Long Island Rugby smoked Suffolk Bull Moose 75-10. The Union County Mudturtles came away with another victory against Morris winning handedly 42-18.
In the New York City division, the Rockaway Fishheads were put away 52-12 by the Gotham Knights. However, In a much different affair, Brooklyn Rugby edged out a close 28-24 victory over New York Rugby.
In the New York/ Connecticut division, the Danbury Mad Hatters blew by White Plains 54-5. Greenwich and Fairfield kept it close all match, but in the end Greenwich ended up taking the victory 26-12.
In the Upstate division, the Rochester Colonials struck down the Binghamton Barbarians in decisive fashion, 58-8. The Southtowns Saxons seized their home opener against South Buffalo winning big, 64-34. The Rochester Aardvarks defeated their opponent the Genesee Creamers 44-24. Buffalo rugby had an easy victory this weekend against Ken-Ton Misfits 57-17.
In the New England Division, North Shore beat up on the Upper Valley Mountain Men, 57-0. Boston Maccabi sizably defeated their opponent Charles River, 34-15. Old Gold Rugby defeated Freedom Rugby 38-19. The Springfield Rifles took an early lead in the tenth minute and never looked back, cruising to a 33-17 victory over Mad River/Stowe. Providence dominated New London County by a score of 41-0. Burlington gained an early lead, but MIT gained its composure after the early give ups, sailing to a 31-14 victory.
