Princeton Wins 21-15 in Close Contest

On a beautiful autumn day the Princeton University Tigers and the University of Pennsylvania Quakers squared off in a rematch on West Windsor Field in Princeton.

With their last match ending in a 33-33 tie, this one promised to be a hard-fought and tense affair. Neither side disappointed. The Tigers opened up the scoring with a linebreak (the product of some good handling) that ended with a try. After the opening salvo, the game settled into a hard-fought back and forth, with neither side capitalizing on their opportunities. Eventually Penn was able to achieve a little bit of offensive rhythm, holding the ball for multiple phases, and getting Bill Barron into the try zone to bring the score to 7-5. However, the conversion was missed and Penn stayed behind on the scoreboard. Penn put the next try in as well, when Douglas Swift picked off an attempted off-load within Penn’s twenty-two and brought it all the way to Princeton’s five-meter line. After a try-saving tackle by the Tigers, the Quakers were able to quickly spin the ball out to exploit the overload and Jaworksi Weis put down the try. Another missed conversion put the score at 10-7 for Penn. Soon it looked like Penn had added to their total with another try off a nice bit of continuity, but the official ruled that Daleroy Sibanda had knocked it on in the try zone. Both teams would end the half fighting to alter the score line but good defense and spilt balls from both sides stymied their efforts.

The hard but choppy play continued in the second half with the teams remaining deadlocked at 10-7 for a large portion of it. The deadlock was finally broken by a beautiful cross kick by Bill Barron that ended up in the hands of an uncovered Jaworski Weis, who ran it into the try zone. However, with the third missed conversion, Penn only led 15-7. These missed opportunities would prove crucial, for the next two tries were Princeton’s. Both tries came off Penn turnovers from their set pieces: the first off a lost scrum, the second off a botched lineout. Having scored on turnover ball the Tigers were able to assure good ball placement on the tries. This was extremely important for the Tigers were able to convert two easy kicks and take the lead 21-15. Despite the Quakers best efforts, the Tigers were able to hold on to the led and the game ended at 21-15.

Scoring Summary

Princeton try 7-0
Penn try Billy Barron 7-5
Penn try Arthur Rempel 7-10
Halftime Princeton 7 Penn 10

Penn try Jaworski Weis 7-15
Princeton try 14-15
Princeton try 21-15
Final Princeton 21 Penn 15

2nd XVs

Princeton 22 - Penn 5