(Paul Meyers photo)

#12 Dartmouth has clinched the Northeast’s second seed for the Round of Sixteen by beating #19 Syracuse 30-7 Sunday at West Point, NY.

The Big Green did it tough though and led by 18-0 at the half.

The weather cleared up in time for Sunday’s final and consolation match, which allowed the teams to spread it and play some running rugby.

Dartmouth skipper Conlon O’Leary separated his should in the first quarter, but his teammates stepped it up and got the job done in his absence.

Big Green try-scorers included Matt Alkaitis (2), Matt Dinger, Derek Fish, and Chris Downer, while Jeff Kolovson booted a conversion and a penalty goal to round out the scoring.

“Syracuse played tough defense but we played the percentages,” Dartmouth head coach Alex Magleby told ARN. “We had the advantage in territory and possession and forced them to play defense for most of the game. They did a good job.”

In the consolation match, #24 Rutgers was too good for Harvard winning 45-24. Rutgers led 17-12 at the break.

CJ Deusen (2), Evan Fitzgerald (2), Mike Acciani, Kamil Ryczko, and Johan Cronje all scored tries for the Black Death. Cronje also was good on 5/7 conversion kicks.

“It was a hard fought game from our perspective,” said Rutgers captain Bryan Blutstein. “We’re a little disappointed that we didn’t get to nationals, but we’re just trying to make Met New York better.”

As a result of the final, Dartmouth goes through to the Round next spring to represent the Northeast along with #5 Army.