Cornell October 4th

Brockport 77

Cornell 7

Buffalo Spetember 27th

Buffalo 19

Brockport 7

Cortland September 20th

Brockport 42

Cortland 10

Buffalo and Syracuse have continued their winning form in Week Two of the New York State conference.

In Albany, NY, Syracuse defeated the Danes 39-27. At the first forty minute mark, the score was 17 Albany, 13 Syracuse.

This was the game to watch this week because of the ramp up seen from newcomers Albany in their one-point win against Binghamton last week.

“The game was interesting,” said Rich Gallina of Syracuse, hesitating a bit. “We had a slow start, playing into the sun during the first half, but we got on our horse and finished them off.”

Try scorers from Syracuse were Brian Goldstein, Steven Patch, Rob Stabile and Tim Ferro.

Finish them off they might have, but happy with the win they were not. It seems that Albany is surprising quite a few people. We’ll have to see if the surprise continues and whether the Danes can improve with a few new tricks.

Keep tuned in for their match-up against Cornell next week.

The match between Brockport and Cortland revealed itself to not be a balanced one with Brockport winning 42-10. The halftime score was a clean sweep 34-0.

“We played 50 minutes of rugby that we were very pleased with this week. Last week it was 40 minutes so we will keep improving until we play the full 80 minutes the way we want to play rugby,” Brockport head coach Mike Hodgins told ARN.

The greatest improvement was seen in Brockport’s lineout. They got their rhythm and showed it with fluid ease, delivering a balanced scoring pattern among the backs who scored four tries and the forwards with two.

Breaking away from the pack was Brockport hooker Steve Engel with a solo try that required 30 meters of hoofing for the points.

Elsewhere, Buffalo defeated Canisius 41-7. Not a surprise considering Buffalo finished at the top of their league as of last week, and Canisius near the bottom, but UB head coach Mickey McGuire was impressed by this year’s Crabbies.

“Canisius played their best game against Buffalo that they have in quite a few years," said McGuire. "I was happy to see that they had a core of guys that could play 80 minutes. This is good for the New York State Conference.”

Bravo to Buffalo point leader, Pat Boyce with the sum of 16 points from 1 try, four conversions and aq penalty goal. Other try scorers were Jason Hillard and Brandon Wood. Buffalo is looking to tighten up and consolidate their team for next week and reproduce the ball more.

In the other game, Binghamton defeated Cornell 40-19 keeping the lead the entire game with strong backs and a dominating defense. The win was a nice bounce-back for Binghamton from last week’s close loss.

 

Syracuse September 13th

Syracuse 23

Brockport 22

 

If you were playing on your home pitch this week in the New York State Conference, you were deemed a winner, some barely, some by a landslide.

Call it home advantage or call it what it is – an exciting start of a new season.

In the anticipated match-up of Syracuse vs. Brockport, the final score was Syracuse 23 Brockport 22. The halftime score was not what you might have expected with Brockport leading 22-10.

“The first half was great because we dominated with possession,” said Damian Flint of the Brockport Doggies. “Our forwards dominated well, especially in the ruck. The second half we were defending the whole time, the penalties were against us and we didn’t get any ball in the second half.”

Syracuse slotted a penalty kick in the last four minutes of the game that granted them the win. Inside center Dominic Rucci kicked all their points and tries were scored by Dan Corcoran, Rob Stabile and Derrick Chafin.

Tough bite for the Doggies, but a good win for Syracuse who have been working extra-hard this preseason to gain national attention and achieve their club goal of competing in the collegiate championships.

“We played hard. We’ve been working hard and things came to fruition today,” Syracuse president Rich Gallina told ARN.

Another close win in upstate New York as Albany beat Binghamton 16–15. At the mid-way mark the Danes were trailing 15-10.

“I thought Albany played well their first game out, but Binghamton’s backs were a tough match,” says coach John Durant of Albany. “We were able to knock over some penalty kicks to take the win.”

Three of those penalty kicks and a conversion came from Jack Reisman and a try from senior prop Mike Somma.

Buffalo played Cortland at home on a muggy Saturday and were able to stay cool and comfortable with a decisive 52-3 victory. The Cortland team may have not weathered the heat as well, as they appeared to be not as fit as Buffalo who were able to dominate the lineouts.

Buffalo played a balanced game with the forwards scoring four tries and the backs touching down five. Both units were able to control their opposites. Try-scorers were Kamil Patel, Mike McGuire (an ARN All-American), and Kevin McKenna with a 40 meter try late in the game.

“It was a great start for us. There’s always room for improvement, but that is what you learn from your first game. Our opponents played very aggressive, and we know we have a hard season in front of us,” said Mickey McGuire, Buffalo’s head coach.

In a late score reported to ARN, Cornell beat Canisius 25-10. Canisius’ tries were scored by outside center Mike McNamra and wing Matt Lalonde, however, Canisius is expected to lodge a petition with the league in regards to some of the refereeing decisions.

"Both teams should be commended on hustle and quality of play for two young teams,” said Canisus coach Ryan Falgiano.