Men’s rugby falls to Ivy League foe

In its final exhibition game before the D-III national tournament, the injury-plagued Middlebury College Rugby Club (MCRC) lost to the D-I Harvard Crimson Tide by a final score of 20-12 on Harvard’s home turf.

The Panthers never gained the lead, as the Crimson was able to control the game through strategic kicking that kept Middlebury’s scoring unusually low while doing just enough on offense to secure victory.

However, the Panthers remained competitive throughout the game with strong defense themselves, a great sign considering the multitude of injuries affecting the team. More importantly, the team remains enthusiastic going into the all-important national tournament.

“We are still very confident going into Nationals,” said Geoff Kalan ’12, one of the injured regulars.

The Panthers had four new starters in their opening lineup, including first-year Febs Ben Stasiak ’13.5, Allan Stafford ’13.5 and Jeb Norton ’13.5, as well as Tom Campanella ’12, all playing for injured regulars Kalan, Chris Marshall ’11, Andrew Durfee ’11, Zach Withers ’11 and Andrew Jones ’12, three of whom make up the starting backfield for the Panthers.

“Playing competitive games against premier Division I teams, and the experience that the new guys got this weekend, will be valuable in Florida,” Kalan said of the fresh faces to the starting lineup.

“The first-time starters really stepped up to the plate and delivered,” added forwards captain Rowan Kelner ’12. “They showed the poise, composure and skill of much more experienced players.”

“The team responded really well to a lot of injuries in our backline,” said Danny Powers ’11. “A lot of new Febs filled in and adapted to the game effectively. We just made some superficial errors in the game.”

The next time the Panthers take the field will be in Florida, where the first two rounds of the national tournament are held.

There, every game will count, as Middlebury will compete for its third D-III national championship trophy in the past four years.

Despite the loss, the Panthers’ final exhibition game was a valuable experience for them to build off of, as the team showed it could still compete with the best while hurt.

Furthermore, the young, fresh faces assured coaches and players alike that they will be more than competent to fill in if needed come tournament time.