By Justin McKinney, Staff Writer
It was a huge week for UMass Dartmouth men’s rugby as on Sunday they continued to dominate the 2A division of the Colonial Coast Rugby Conference beating the Johnson and Wales University Wildcats 22-0.
The Corsairs received the opening kickoff from the Wildcats and the kick was muffed by the Corsair recipient. However, back Bryce Muldoon was able to jar the ball loose from a Wildcat ball carrier with a huge hit that led to the Corsairs recovering the ball.
Upon the recovery the Corsairs got right to work and began forcing the ball deep into Wildcat territory. Great rucks set up by forwards Tyler Derby and Guilmond Torres kept the ball in the hands of the Corsairs as the Wildcats had a relentless defensive attack.
Knocks also seemed to plague both teams as the pouring rain and mud from the grass pitch here at UMassD made it practically impossible to keep the ball from slipping out of one’s hands. In fact, Torres was robbed of a try as he knocked on due to the slippery conditions just as he was diving into the end zone.
None of this seemed to stop the Corsairs though as he scrums resulting in the many knocks were practically all Corsair wins. The UMass forward pack look perfect in the scrums as the Wildcats seemed to be on skates all game and just unable to compete with the powerful Corsairs.
Following a great Corsair scrum, the ball was worked out to the backs by scrum-half NuBright Youngvongphailboon and it was as if the field was an open highway for the quick backs of UMass. After a great run from Phil Spencer, he worked the ball perfectly out to Muldoon and Muldoon brought the ball in for the Corsairs first try of the day.
Back Andrew Rada was good on the kick putting the Corsairs up by seven. The short lead was extended quickly though as Spencer took off from the kick off with a huge return right into Wildcat territory. While Spencer did not make it into the end zone right away, after the ball was worked back out to him from a tackle he made quick work of the Wildcats defense and put the ball in for the try. The extra point kick was not good therefore the Corsairs went up 12-0 on the Wildcats going into the half.
The Wildcats got the kick at the half, but were no match for forward Jason Sayde and company as they pressed hard on the Wildcats which resulted in a knock and a won scrum for the Corsairs.
Upon the scrum win it seemed as if the cool temperatures and rain were really getting to the Corsairs as they continued to knock the ball, but again the great scrums for the Corsairs continued to save them as they got their third try of the day off as big scrum win. Derby was fed the ball after a tackle came quickly from the Wildcat defenders off a scrum.
Youngvongphailboon fend derby the ball off the ruck and he scurried right in for a try. Rada would also grab himself a try shortly after the kick and the corsairs would close out their 3rd straight win with a shutout.
The Corsairs are back to work this Saturday at 1 P.M. at home against Wentworth Institute of Technology. If the Corsairs win they clinch the one seed for the CCRC division 2A playoffs.