Men's rugby mauls Black Bears for Northeast championship

Author: James Schwerdtman

It seems that every weekend the men's rugby team pulls off another impressive win against another tough opponent, and this weekend was no different.

The Panthers clinched the Northeast Finals on Nov. 9, defeating Coast Guard 41-7 on Saturday and topping the University of Maine 43-25 on Sunday in two hard-fought contests. The win on Sunday guaranteed the team a spot at the National Championships in Albuquerque, N.M. this spring.

The Panthers had been building up to this match all fall, and their dedication throughout the season showed over the weekend, as they appeared much more well-conditioned late in the matches, which helped propel them to victory.

This weekend was a rematch of both matches Middlebury had two weeks ago, in which it defeated Coast Guard 27-0 and the University of Maine 34-0 to win the New England Rugby Football Union Championship.

This weekend, however, the matches proved to be a little bit more of a challenge.

"We came out a little tentative at times," said scrum captain Alex White '09, "but the speed of our backs took it to them in the end."

This has been a theme of the Panthers game plan all season. The speed of the backs and the strong, physical nature of the games have helped lead the team to an undefeated season.

Sunday's game was the biggest test of the season for the Panthers, considering both the importance of the game and the competition. Maine is consistently one of the better teams in the region, if not the country.

"Maine came out much stronger than expected," said White, "and they played a very physical game."

The Black Bears played a very strong first half and were actually up 15-14 after the first forty minutes. The Panthers came back in the second half and "we started hitting them the way we needed to."

Many of Maine's weaknesses started showing in the second half, as they couldn't keep up with the speed and tough play of the Panthers.

"There are no superstars," said White, commenting on the great team play Middlebury has relied on. "What we have this year is fifteen players who all do their job and play well as a team."

This sort of attitude is very noticeable when talking with a number of the players on the team. No one is willing to take credit for the victory, and all the players will look to point to something someone else did that made a difference.

"Robert Gosney '09 had a booming downfield kick that helped put away the game," said Ben Cmejla '11. "He plays prop, which is normally a position that doesn't kick the ball, and it was beautiful."

Many of the players were also quick to mention Spencer Paddock '09, who shut down Maine's outside center throughout the game and also helped to sink the Black Bears. His play in the second half in particular helped shut down Maine and put the game out of reach.

Winning the Northeast Championships ends the fall season for the Panthers. In the spring, they go to Albuquerque as the third seed for Nationals, which they won two years ago.

There are high hopes that this year will be no different, and many sources close to the team say that this is the strongest team Middlebury has ever fielded. The excitement surrounding the players on Sunday afternoon was palpable, and there is certainly a hunger to reclaim the national championship.