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In a day where the weather more closely resembled a Monsoon, both RPI Men's and Women's teams were victorious in the quarterfinal round of the DII Collegiate Playoffs. Below are match reports for both of the matches, along with commentary from the captains
and coaches.
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RPI Men 18 - 15 Monroe
(Anderson Field, Troy, NY)
"A Perfect day for rugby" was the general sentiment passed around this morning amongst the pouring rain and heavy puddles of Anderson Field in Troy, NY. RPI hosted Monroe College this afternoon for the quarter-finals of the Tri-State Division, in an instant
classic of a Mudbowl game.
Pat Donelan and Steve Bessler found the tryline early in the match for RPI, exploiting some overloads and missed tackles on Monroe's part. RPI's offense was efficient in breaking the gain line and sucking in the defense in the first 20 minutes, but some untimely
penalties and extremely hard running by Monroe saw the score tied approaching the half. Jakob Djibankov, a rookie who has already seen minutes at flanker this season, made the transition to wing this week and had an outstanding individual effort chasing down
a kick, forcing a turnover and scoring himself at the 35' mark. RPI forced another penalty deep in Monroe territory and went up 18-10 at the half.
The second half had very little handling or footing to be had by either side, as the field conditions worsened. RPI's defense generally kept Monroe retreating but conceded meters through penalties as players found it difficult to keep their feet on a field
that was increasingly resembling a swamp. Monroe fought hard and eventually found the tryline in the 83rd minute of the game, bringing the final score to 18-15 in favor of the home team.
After the game, Shawn Andrews, coach for RPI had this to say: "I'm extremely proud of the way my boys played today, smart rugby all the way through the game that allowed us to control both possession of the ball and field position. Made all the difference
in a tight game like this."
RPI advances to the semi-finals next Sunday with Kings Point Merchant Marine Academy hosting at 1 PM. In the regular season, RPI conceded a loss to MMA by a mere 3 points. If you're in the area, please come out to support our men!
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Stony Brook 10 - 28 RPI Women
(Stony Brook, NY)
Leading into todays second round playoff game against Stony Brook in Long Island, the Women's team was still prepped and ready to go despite having a couple of bye weeks. They understood that this game would be a very rainy, windy, and sloppy affair but that
did not hinder them from doing what needed to be done. The women have been playing with a chip on their shoulder all season and that didn't change today.
The first half began much how most of our first halves have begun this season. After taking a scrum around Stony Brook's 40 meter line, RPI's pack was able to drive the Stony Brook opposition into their own try zone. This ultimately led to our first try of
the game scored by Sophomore 2nd row player, Morgan Daley, her 11th of the season. As the game progressed and due to the inclement weather both teams incurred a large number of ball handling errors, but RPI was able to capitalize on these mistakes. The defense
was stellar as they continued to tackle Stony Brook players behind the gain line and forced Stony Brook to get the ball out wider than they had initially planned. The second try was scored towards the end of the half when Junior flanker, Priscilla Kozdroy
was able to take the ball and throw a deadly stiff arm against a Stony Brook backline player inside the 22 for the score.
At Halftime, Team Captain, Vanessa Tarantino tried lighting a fire under the team. Despite the early scoreboard success, she felt that the team were still not playing up to their potential. The team immediately came out in the second half with a new fire and
continued to back Stony Brook into their own side of the field. Stony Brook kicked it to All Conference Fullback, Caitlyn Moustouka, who immediately took it up field and stiff armed 4 different opposing players before outrunning the rest and scoring the next
try. Junior Wing, Hanna Johnston, was able to break off a decent run for the next try, and Vanessa Tarantino was able to get a try of her own around the 65th minute.
The last 10 minutes saw the RPI defense begin to buckle and they allowed two late tries by Stony Brook. Overall it was a solid victory on both sides of the ball by RPI despite the weather. The team continues to keep their sights set on going to Nationals for
the first time since 2016.
Next Sunday, the Women's team faces off against defending National Champion, Vassar College at their pitch in Poughkeepsie, NY. Kickoff is at 12pm. If you're in the area, please come out to support our ladies!
Vanessa Tarantino and forwards Captain, Alexa Orosz jointly admit that "they are excited to play Vassar again with our new implemented dynamic play style on offense.Were always hungry for a win, especially against a team who wont take us seriously and we're
eager to prove ourselves, and shut the doubters up.....no one is unbeatable". Women's coach, Andrew Denson, echoed the sentiment from his captains and is proud that his players have been able to adopt this kind of winning mentality.
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