Twitter
Facebook
Reddit
Digg
Tell us what you think!Send a letter to the editor about this or any other article in The Maine Campus.
It’s Saturday afternoon, and the sight of two ambulances on a pitch can only mean one thing – University of Maine men’s rugby is about to play. With the sound of bagpipes in the air, the team takes the field prepared for perhaps their toughest test of the season, the No. 2 University of New Hampshire Wildcats.
After one of the most intimidating chants of all time the Black Bears were ready to go. The match started with UNH kicking to Maine and from there the Black Bears took over. Maine dominated possession for the first 20 minutes until Tony Purpura was finally able to score a try, barreling through several UNH defenders to put UMaine up 5-0. The home team was able to follow this score with two drop goals, a try and a conversion from Rocco Andreozzi, putting the Black Bears up 18-0 at the end of the first half.
Some of the tackles in this game would make even the most experienced NFL fan shudder. The second half proved to have the same storyline as Maine continued their domination. Early in the second half, Eric Stevens intercepted a pass inside the UNH 22 and brought it into the end zone for Maine’s third try of the match. Andreozzi would follow up with another conversion giving Maine the 25-0 lead. Stevens’ score would be followed up by a try from Maine and yet another conversion from Rocco giving Maine the 32-0 lead. This point was followed by UNH’s only score of the game, a try with a missed conversion leaving Maine with a 32-5 lead. Andreozzi would score and convert again, giving Maine the 39-5 win.
Speaking after the win, Andreozzi gave all the credit to his teammates around him: “It took discipline, composure and preparation to win this game, along with a lot of hard work from our younger players. Having Coach Kriner and Coach Gus has also helped us so much this year.”
Tony Purpura echoed the statement, “It helps to have a lot of rookies with a lot of experience. Our team is deep this year and we worked real hard to get where we are today.”
The win brings UMaine’s record to 2-0. Their first victory came against Bowdoin in a lopsided 48-0 romp.
Men’s Rugby plays at Bates College on Saturday, Sept. 29. The Black Bears’ next home game is slated for 3 p.m. on Oct. 6, against the University of Maine Farmington at Lengyel Field.
Bangor Daily News