Vassar 12, Army 27

Vassar College Rugby
Sunday October 6, 2002
Poughkeepsie, NY

Sunday October 6, 2002
Vassar College Men 12 v USMA (Army) Men 27
Tries: Frank Sharpe (1) & Tony Baldor (1).
Cons: Brian Roach (1).

It's hard to take defeat when one has battled so hard just to stay in contention and even harder when one has created opportunities to win which is exactly what Vassar did on a hot sunny fall afternoon at the Farm. The first 30 minutes of this game was one way traffic and Alamo type defense from the Brewers. Twice Army went over the line but were held up and prevented from scoring and then came a ray of sunshine as Vassar poached some ball and went through 4 phases before shipping it to the backs who went around the outside and suddenly it was Army wondering what was happening! This success gave the Brewers new found confidence and they battered away and finally applying some pressure of their own. The home crowd roared and moments later Tony Baldor picked up from close range and Vassar were ahead 5-0. Army came back like an angry hornet and there were some huge penetrating runs matched by last ditch tackles and Vassar survived. Just when it looked likely that the Vassar defence would break there was some relief from a good tackle, a knock-on or a penalty from the cadets. Then following a lineout around midfield Vassar ran a back peel that set Frank Sharpe off on a run upfield. The junior broke two tackles, fended off another couple of other would-be tacklers before crashing over to make it 10-0. Brian Roach converted right on the stroke of half time and it was Vassar 12 Army 0.

The second half was a different story as Army put in some deft kicks which plagued the Vassar rookie fullback Bradley Gray. The youngster did well but the quick Army centers were up and made their tackles which put Vassar under all kinds of pressure. Essentially, this was something of a moral victory for the Brewers because the Army running had been thwarted and they had chosen to kick deep to get back into the game. Twenty-seven unanswered points was the result of 4 tries, 2 conversions and a penalty, but until the last 12 minutes of the game it was 19-12 and Vassar felt they could level the scores. Co-captain Christian Bruckhart made a massive number of tackles, soared high in the lineouts, and ran his heart out picking from the base of the scrum. His cover tackle in the last 5 minutes when the Army wing broke free was Super 12 calibre!

It had been a heroic team effort which was all the more gut wrenching becuase a win was possible.

Team: 15 Bradley Gray 14 Jason Fotinatos 13 Brian Roach 12 Max Marquardt 11 Joe Schumacher 10 Sean Devendorf 9 Tony Baldor * 1 Sam Filler 2 Edwin Cintron 3 Evan Milliken 4 Jake McDougal 5 Jon Campbell 6 Chris Bedevian 7 Frank Sharpe 8 Christian Bruckhart Subs: Sebastian Denton for Evan Milliken.



	VASSAR SHINE EARLY BUT FADE Vassar College Rugby Sunday October 6, 2002 Poughkeepsie, NY Sunday October 6, 2002 Vassar College Men 12 v USMA (Army) Men 27 Tries: Frank Sharpe (1) & Tony Baldor (1). Cons: Brian Roach (1). It's hard to take defeat when one has battled so hard just to stay in contention and even harder when one has created opportunities to win which is exactly what Vassar did on a hot sunny fall afternoon at the Farm. The first 30 minutes of this game was one way traffic and Alamo type defense from the Brewers. Twice Army went over the line but were held up and prevented from scoring and then came a ray of sunshine as Vassar poached some ball and went through 4 phases before shipping it to the backs who went around the outside and suddenly it was Army wondering what was happening! This success gave the Brewers new found confidence and they battered away and finally applying some pressure of their own. The home crowd roared and moments later Tony Baldor picked up from close range and Vassar were ahead 5-0. Army came back like an angry hornet and there were some huge penetrating runs matched by last ditch tackles and Vassar survived. Just when it looked likely that the Vassar defence would break there was some relief from a good tackle, a knock-on or a penalty from the cadets. Then following a lineout around midfield Vassar ran a back peel that set Frank Sharpe off on a run upfield. The junior broke two tackles, fended off another couple of other would-be tacklers before crashing over to make it 10-0. Brian Roach converted right on the stroke of half time and it was Vassar 12 Army 0. The second half was a different story as Army put in some deft kicks which plagued the Vassar rookie fullback Bradley Gray. The youngster did well but the quick Army centers were up and made their tackles which put Vassar under all kinds of pressure. Essentially, this was something of a moral victory for the Brewers because the Army running had been thwarted and they had chosen to kick deep to get back into the game. Twenty-seven unanswered points was the result of 4 tries, 2 conversions and a penalty, but until the last 12 minutes of the game it was 19-12 and Vassar felt they could level the scores. Co-captain Christian Bruckhart made a massive number of tackles, soared high in the lineouts, and ran his heart out picking from the base of the scrum. His cover tackle in the last 5 minutes when the Army wing broke free was Super 12 calibre! It had been a heroic team effort which was all the more gut wrenching becuase a win was possible. Team: 15 Bradley Gray 14 Jason Fotinatos 13 Brian Roach 12 Max Marquardt 11 Joe Schumacher 10 Sean Devendorf 9 Tony Baldor * 1 Sam Filler 2 Edwin Cintron 3 Evan Milliken 4 Jake McDougal 5 Jon Campbell 6 Chris Bedevian 7 Frank Sharpe 8 Christian Bruckhart Subs: Sebastian Denton for Evan Milliken.