Match Report – Columbia (11/7/15)
Hanover, NH – This past weekend the DRFC hosted Columbia for their sixth game in the Ivy League conference. Dartmouth was relentless in their attack as they put up 90 points to the Lions’ 17 over the course of the game sending the Big Green 6-0 in their Ivy Season.
Coach Hickie kindly responded to requests for comment, saying, “It was pleasing to see our accurate execution from the start of the game against Columbia. We needed a big response following last week’s defeat to Lindenwood and the squad responded well.”
The first points of the game came very quickly after Columbia knocked the ball on in their first possession of the game leading to a Dartmouth scrum off of which John Abraham ‘16 collected the ball and sprinted 60 meters for a try. The next three tries from Ryan Maguire ’16, Gordon Driscoll ’17, and Andrew Zhu ‘16 came in quick succession after long weaving team plays created space for the Big Green to penetrate the Columbia defense in many areas across the field. Columbia then responded after three penalties against thee Big Green marched them towards their own try line at which point Columbia made it across the line after multiple phases of strong defense. Other electric moments in the game came from Phil Sheridan ’16 and Andrew Berson ’15. Berson, a stand-out player and 5th Year Engineering Student from last year’s senior class, made his return to the DRFC a sweet one as he intercepted Columbia’s ball in the midfield to run 50 meters for a fantastic try. Berson has been making a return to rugby recently as he prepares himself to represent USA Rugby at the 2015 Maccabiah Games alongside Jake Levine ’15. Sheridan, who has been a strong physical runner all season, saw his hard work pay off as he burst through a well-covered area of the Columbia defensive wall and beat several other tacklers to back himself for his first try of the season.
Hickie had further remarks about the game, mentioning, “We are exactly where we want to be in the Ivy Rugby Conference, with maximum points in our six games to date. We have a huge final week of the Fall season coming up and the game against Harvard, who are also unbeaten, will be winner takes all. We are excited by the challenge.”
The DRFC hosts Harvard next weekend (Saturday 14th November) in a game that will decide the Ivy Championship. Following the game, in the evening, the DRFC will be hosting the Annual Dartmouth Rugby Ball in order to celebrate the continued excellence of the club.