Rugby advances on the road back to Nationals

Rugby traveled to the UMass-Amherst campus this weekend for the national semifinal tournament. In their first matchup on Saturday, the Panthers took on the Stony Brook Seawolves. The horrendous weather was not ideal for either team, but the Panthers played a hard first half to gain a definitive lead and secure the win.

The impossibly muddy field made it clear that kicking would be the decisive factor in the game. Luckily, Middlebury kicker Brian Sirkia ’12.5 was up to the challenge. In the first half, Sirkia opened the scoring 15 minutes after the whistle with a penalty kick for the panthers. Ten minutes later, Geoff Kalan ’12 answered with a try. Kalan and captain Eddie Cahill ’09.5 were noteworthy for their tenacious play throughout the match. The last score for Middlebury came again from Sirkia, who scored another penalty with six minutes to go in the half.

The second half gave the Panthers a chance to show their strong defensive game. By coming in with the advantage, they were able to adopt a calm and collected attitude, and focus on thwarting the Stony Brook offense. Middlebury’s scrum game was also noticeably improved in the second half. While they were not able to capitalize on any more scoring opportunities, they kept Stony Brook out of the end zone for the entire 80 minutes, ending the game with an 11-0 win.

The other semifinal matchup on Saturday pitted UVM against UMass-Amherst, with UVM coming out on top. The next round of games would match UMass-Amherst against Stony Brook to determine third and forth place. The competition for first and second place matched Middlebury against rival UVM.

This game marked the third time the Panthers faced UVM. In the earlier two matchups, Middlebury delivered two resounding defeats to UVM, and the Panthers looked forward to this opportunity to extend their perfect record. Unfortunately, despite playing a great game, they weren’t quite able to finish on top.

The game was a “clash of the Northeast titans,” said coach Muchadei Zvoma. The game opened as a competition between the two back-lines and the kickers. UVM was the first to find success, scoring a try off of a lucky kick return. Middlebury countered with a run by flanker Zach Bills ’11. Although not finishing with a try, Bills earned the Panthers a penalty kick, which Sirkia easily put away to render the score 3-7 in favor of UVM.

UVM continued to challenge the Middlebury defense, eventually scoring another try and a conversion. Two UVM players received yellow cards near the end of the first half, giving Middlebury the advantage for a few minutes, but the Panthers were unable to capitalize, ending the first half with UVM in the lead 14-11.

Early in the second half, the Panthers fought hard in the scrum and found themselves in prime offensive position. Kalan finished with a try off of a crisp pass from Sirkia to give Middlebury their first lead of the game, with a score of 15-14. The game continued with attacks and counter-attacks by both teams. Middlebury played a strong defensive game, but UVM eventually broke through the line to score another try, ending the game at 19-15 in favor of the Catamounts.

“All of the coaches are incredibly proud of the boys for the character they showed this weekend — we have been plagued by injury this season but they gave their absolute everything in terrible weather conditions Saturday and against a good UVM side Sunday,” said Zvoma. “We lost today but we walk away with our heads high and our eyes on the only prize that counts: the National Championship in the spring.”

Despite the loss, Middlebury is assured a spot in the Sweet 16 tournament in the spring, along with UVM and UMass-Amherst. This is the first step in their road to nationals, where the Muddlebury College Rugby Club will play to defend their championship title.