Big Green Defeat Bulldogs on Brophy
On a beautiful fall day in Hanover, Dartmouth Rugby shut down Yale to maintain their position at the top of Ivy Rugby. For the second time this season, both the 1st and 2nd XV held Yale scoreless on the day, leading to two dominant victories of 42-0 and 97-0 respectively.
Hoping to improve their play after sloppy performances in the previous two weeks, the Big Green came flying out of the gates. After some great continuity from the forwards through the middle of the field, the ball was quickly recycled and spread wide to junior wing Kevin Clark ’14 for his first try of the game. Madison Hughes ’15 converted the try, bringing the score to 7-0. Taking advantage of its improving kick-chase game, Dartmouth kept the pressure on following the first score by pinning Yale deep in its own territory. This tactic led to turnovers and great field position for the home team, and Clark was able to take advantage. Clark added three more tries in the first half, with one coming off a swerving run into Yale territory by center Parker Gilbert ’16. Hughes had an excellent first half as well, knocking through another conversion and a penalty to bring the score to 27-0 at the half.
The second half started much the same as the first, with Clark putting away a try in the corner for his 5th try of the match. Hughes’s conversion was good, and Dartmouth had a lead of 34-0. Following the try, Yale began to find some success playing a possession game. But the Big Green defense stood strong, refusing to allow Yale to gain yardage and turning the ball over when support was too slow. Wing Justin Ciambella ’13 eventually got in on the scoring with a nice break down the sideline. Gilbert added a penalty in the 79th minute to give the Big Green a 42-0 lead and the victory.
“We maintained our structure well. The forwards did a great job of securing us quick ball, allowing our backs to finish,” said co-captain Quinn Connell ’13 when asked about the key to the Big Green victory. He noted particularly strong performances in the forward pack from Peter Savarese ’15, Michael McDavid ’15, Andrew Berson ’15, Dylan Jones ’14 and Lawrence Anfo-Whyte ’13.
The 2nd XV had great success as well on Saturday, dominating the Yale side on both sides of the ball. Tom Steventon ’16, Tyler Moragne ’14, Chris Banks ’16, Matt Vetter ’14, Matias Reyna ’13, and Andy Suslavich ’15 each had one try, and Max Hannam’16 and Brian Flint ’14 put in two tries apiece. The Big Green won in a romp, 97-0.
“We want to build on these performances and keep increasing our level of play,” added Connell following the match. Next weekend the Big Green will take on Brown in a match that will decide the first place finisher in the Ivy North division. The game will take place on Saturday, October 20th at 1 PM in Providence, RI.
Referee: Stefan Kuch
Scoring Summary:
Dartmouth try Kevin Clark, 5-0
Dartmouth convertsion Madison Hughes, 7-0
Dartmouth try Kevin Clark,12-0
Dartmouth Madison Hughes penalty kick, 15-0
Dartmouth try Kevin Clark, 20-0
Dartmouth try Kevin Clark, 25-0
Dartmouth conversion Madison Hughes, 27-0
Half: Dartmouth 27 - Yale 0
Dartmouth try Kevin Clark, 32-0
Dartmouth conversion Madison Hughes, 34-0
Dartmouth try Justin Ciambella, 39-0
Dartmouth penalty kick Parker Gilbert, 42-0
Final: Dartmouth 42 - Yale 0
Dartmouth 1st XV
1. Andrew Berson ‘15
2. Peter Savarese ‘15
3. Lawrence Anfo-Whyte ‘13
4. Dylan Jones ’14, replaced in 2nd half by Ned Kingsley ‘14
5. Shea Smith ‘13
6. Michael Urbach ’14, replaced in 2nd half by Chris Banks ‘16
7. Neil Green ‘14
8. Michael McDavid ‘15
9. Quinn Connell ’13, replaced in 2nd half by John Descalzi ‘14
10. Owen Scannell ’13, replaced in 2nd half by Rex Littlefield ‘14
11. Justin Ciambella ‘13
12. Michael Burbank ‘13
13. Parker Gilbert ‘16
14. Kevin Clark ’14, replaced in 2nd half by Wilson Chockley ‘15
15. Madison Hughes ’15, replaced in 2nd half by Tyler Moragne ‘14