On this October Saturday, Dartmouth traveled to Fairfield, Connecticut to take on the Fairfield Stags in a Liberty Conference matchup. It was a cool fall day with temperatures in the mid-50s at kickoff. Rain was coming down hard as the match started – Dartmouth’s second straight week in the rain. This was a big match for both Dartmouth and Fairfield as each team looked to climb the conference standings. With only a few weeks to go in the regular season, each team looked to find their stride.
Early in the game, Dartmouth was attacking the Stags with ferocity. From a Fairfield scrum on the far sideline, the Big Green line of defenders came up strong and together. As the ball went zipping to the Fairfield wing, the slippery ball hit the deck. Fairfield picked it up, and a slew of bodies tangled together. The ball came out of Fairfield’s hands again, and Dartmouth picked it up. Before long, Fairfield committed a failure to release penalty, which set Big Green up for a pen kick. Luke Morrow ’27 converts, putting Dartmouth on the board 3-0.
On the ensuing restart, Fairfield took the ball back from a Dartmouth penalty. The Stags swung the ball to the far side of the field after the resulting lineout and punched it in for a try. Conversion no good, Stags up 5-3.
Later in the half, Fairfield chased down a loose ball in Dartmouth’s backfield and scored right under the sticks to put them up 12-3. Then Dartmouth lined up for a penalty restart. Despite some good work from the boys, a nifty offload from Fairfield gave them a lane to the try zone. Conversion good, Fairfield up 19-3 at half.
In the second half, Dartmouth had their work cut out for them. A long spell of good, hard work was put in by the Men in Green, and though the ball was firmly in Fairfield’s half, it was difficult to get to the try zone. Eventually, Fairfield had the ball in the middle of the field around the 22-meter line. The forwards put in a hell of a shift for the scrum, which folded Fairfield up. They still managed to squeak out an exit kick, caught by Luke Morrow. Terrence Faherty ‘GR carried it next, and he was tackled down to the ground. Following a couple strong runs from Owen Lee ’24, Dartmouth attempted a grubber, but it rolled out of the back of the try zone. After receiving the kick, Dartmouth inched toward the try line. Tackle by tackle, Dartmouth gained centimeter by centimeter. Soon, Jack Swords ‘GR found himself in the middle of a horde of players heaving him toward the try line. Fairfield held him up, though, and Dartmouth resigned to try again.
After a penalty restart, Dartmouth found themselves driving again. The Men in Green had Fairfield back at their own try line, and something was about to break through. Inches away from a try, Marco Landicino ’25 passed it to a streaking Luca Strazzolini ’25, who sprinted through the defense to score. Conversion no good, Dartmouth was down 8-19.
Unfortunately, with the time remaining in the half, Dartmouth was unable to score again, falling to Fairfield 8-19. Next week is Homecoming in Hanover. The DRFC will return to Brophy on Saturday, October 21 to take on Ivy League rivals Brown to conclude the regular season.