After a disappointing loss against new division rivals AIC last week, the DRFC looked to make a statement against long-time rivals Northeastern.
The game did not start as the men had hoped, with AIC catching the DRFC pack off-guard on the blindside after a scrappy scrum and gaining the early lead. The DRFC would be quick to punch back, scoring a well-worked try that stemmed from their own in-goal. It started with an absolute BOOT from Matty ‘Ice’ Anticev accompanied by the hounding kick chase from Jaime Chuidian who makes the tackle at the 50 allowing Gabe Riordan ’26 and Quinn Heyneman ’23 to gang up on an isolated NE defender and win the penalty. From the penalty Matty Ice kicks another beauty to give Green the lineout inside the NE 10. After three tight crash balls, Matty wants it again and works the ball well wide, eventually ending up at the hands of the Argentinian fullback Luca “Gasoline” Strazzolini ’25 who gives the NE men a tango lesson to finish in the corner.
While the DRFC’s first try was a show of collective rugby dominance, the second would be a moment of individual brilliance from the talented freshman Gabe Riordan. Off a miss pass from NE inside their own 22, Gabe is there with his soccer skills from across the pond to kick the ball up to himself while running full-stride, make the catch, and easily find his way to the end zone before the NE defenders could even react. The DRFC would go on to close the half how it started, only this time it would be the Green forward pack catching NE off-guard on the blindside off a lineout maul with Uly Brenzel ’25 finishing in the corner. Half time: Dartmouth 17-5 Northeastern.
The beginning of the second half would see the DRFC build on the momentum from the first, dominating territory early on and being rewarded for it. This try came from a tested and proven formula the men are likely to replicate many times this season: hard carry from Dani Locascio ’24 off the back of the scrum with an offload to keep it alive, some magic from Abraham Kamara ’25 on the wing to put the team on a scoring position, a hard-carry from skipper Matias Calvo ’23 to bring it within inches, and a little twist at the end with the freshman Gabe Riordan finishing the try with his deceitfully shifty feet. Fifty minutes into the match Dartmouth had a comfortable 22-5 lead.
At this point in the match the DRFC’s penalty troubles would reappear, with a succession of offside penalties culminating in two yellows card and a NE try shortly after. Though NE was putting the pressure on the short-manned DRFC defense, they were unable to capitalize. It was instead Abe ‘Ate the Ham’ Kamara ’25 who would score for The Green as he dummies his defender into oblivion and runs all the way to the in-goal off an attacking scrum. Penalties continued to rain on the DRFC and two more yellow cards will come, with NE scoring a consolidation try to close the match. Dartmouth takes the win 27-15.
The men will be happy to secure a dominant win over their long-time rivals in a game they finally displayed what they are capable of. Set pieces were more effective and ball movement was more dynamic. Most impressive of all, all 5 Dartmouth tries came from freshman or sophomores. Yet as dominant as the DRFC was for the majority of the match, they were lucky to keep NE at arms length despite conceding four yellow cards in the second half. Though discipline, specifically penalties, remains a work on area, the DRFC gets back on the right path with their best performance yet.