Rugby club sees success at home and away games

The Middlebury College Rugby Club faced their hardest test of the season this Saturday, taking on rising Northeast power Boston University at home in front of what was the biggest fan turnout of the year to date.  The Panthers rose to the occasion, jumping out to an early lead and never looking back in a 43-10 beatdown of the Terriers.
“We got out to a nice early lead, which was important because BU kept the pressure on all game and never let up,” said prop Mikey “Near, not on” Pappa ’11. “The game was really a lot closer than the final score indicated.”
Winger Allan Stafford ’13.5 helped the MCRC to an early 12-0 lead with two tries, one of which was a spectacular 60-meter breakaway through the BU defense. Adding tries in the first half were Geoff Kalan ’12.5 and Kennedy Mugo ’12, the team’s leading try scorer on the year. Backs captain Brian Sirkia ’12.5 connected on three of four conversions and his only penalty kick of the first half to give the Panthers a 29-0 halftime lead.
The second half proved to be a much more closely-contested period, as BU took out some of their frustration of being shut out in the first half by scoring quickly after the second kick off. However, they would only add a garbage-time try after that, as the Middlebury defense continued to be relentless in their ability to tackle the Terrier’s ball carriers low and hard, breaking up phases that easily could have otherwise resulted in points for the BU side.
“Each week we really try to focus on one aspect of our game and incorporate it into our game plan for the upcoming match,” said assistant coach and club president Darragh Hurley ’11. “This week I think we really did a good job of tackling, which was the thing we wanted to focus on. We had some penalties and miscues that allowed BU to keep the pressure on us, but our tackling really allowed our defense to remain solid throughout the match.”
Sam Harrison ’11, widely regarded as the surest tackler on the team, had several key stops on players often much larger than he. Sirkia and Ross Berriman ’12 added tries in the second half to round out the scoring for the MCRC, which takes on rival UVM on the road in their final regular-season game next weeking.
Not to be outdone by their male counterparts, the Middlebury College Women’s Rugby Club notched a big victory over Roger Williams this weekend, advancing to the semi-finals of their divisional playoffs in the process.
The Panthers faced a 12-point deficit at the halfway point of their match but fought back hard in the second half. Avery Rain ’11 put in the final try of the game with just two minutes remaining to break a 24-24 tie, and Emma Lemnon ’11 put in her third conversion kick of the morning to make it a 31-24 game, a tally which would prove to be the final score. Evan Pagano ’12 credited the victory to the Panther’s ability to consistently beat Roger Williams on the outside at the wing position, setting up scoring oppurtunities.
“We tried to get it out to our wings as much as possible, since we were great at beating them on the outside. In the last three minutes, we were able to get the ball out to Jess (Berry ’13) and she had a great run, setting us up to score that final try at the end,” said Pagano.
The Panthers will take on top-seeded MIT in the semifinals this weekend.