Women's rugby falters on road to postseason
By Angus Dwyer Sports Editor, Issue 08, 10/23/2001
It was another battle in the age-old struggle between brain and brawn. Unfortunately for Amherst rugby, brawn won-decisively. Both rugby squads fell to the University of Massachusetts Saturday. The men lost 20-12, while the women's team was crushed 56-0.
The men's game followed the same script as most of their games this season. The Jeffs remained in the game until midway through the second half, when defensive weariness caught up with them, and the Minutemen were able to put the game out of reach.
"We were definitely in the game the whole time," said the Jeffs' leading scorer, David Stasiak '03. "They just put together two quick tries, and then we came back to score again, but we just ran out of time."
Amherst's points came on tries by Stasiak and James Orraca-Tetteh '02.
In the end, the Minutemen's superior conditioning was the deciding factor. The Jeffs were unable to connect on key tackles, allowing the Minutemen to march up the field on their way to both their second-half tries.
"Our main problem is that we got demoralized at the end," said Stasiak. "People just gave up on tackling."
In that it was Homecoming weekend, a number of rugby alumni returned for the game, including a few who actually played in the B-side game. Colin Clark '00 scored a try for the victorious Jeffs' B-side.
The women closed their regular season with their worst loss of the year. The Jeffs, who prior to Saturday had given up 68 points on the entire season, allowed 56 points to a UMass squad they had held to 22 points in an early-season loss.
Overconfidence early on may have been one of the key factors in the Jeffs' loss. "We were expecting to be on a more level playing field with UMass," said Elizabeth Hawkins '03. "They're a great team; they came out really strong, and we just weren't prepared."
As with the men's team, late-game exhaustion may have been the deciding factor. "We played with them in the first half, but then they just started scoring and scoring, and we lost focus," said Hawkins.
Next week, the men travel to Boston College, while the women head to UMass to face Dartmouth College in the first round of the New England Rugby Football Union playoffs