UB v Canisius (Patrick Boice photo)
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In Albany, NY, Syracuse defeated the Danes 39-27. At the first forty minute mark, the score was 17 Albany, 13 Syracuse.
This was the game to watch this week because of the ramp up seen from newcomers Albany in their one-point win against Binghamton last week.
“The game was interesting,” said Rich Gallina of Syracuse, hesitating a bit. “We had a slow start, playing into the sun during the first half, but we got on our horse and finished them off.”
Try scorers from Syracuse were Brian Goldstein, Steven Patch, Rob Stabile and Tim Ferro.
Finish them off they might have, but happy with the win they were not. It seems that Albany is surprising quite a few people. We’ll have to see if the surprise continues and whether the Danes can improve with a few new tricks.
Keep tuned in for their match-up against Cornell next week.
The match between Brockport and Cortland revealed itself to not be a balanced one with Brockport winning 42-10. The halftime score was a clean sweep 34-0.
“We played 50 minutes of rugby that we were very pleased with this week. Last week it was 40 minutes so we will keep improving until we play the full 80 minutes the way we want to play rugby,” Brockport head coach Mike Hodgins told ARN.
The greatest improvement was seen in Brockport’s lineout. They got their rhythm and showed it with fluid ease, delivering a balanced scoring pattern among the backs who scored four tries and the forwards with two.
Breaking away from the pack was Brockport hooker Steve Engel with a solo try that required 30 meters of hoofing for the points.
Elsewhere, Buffalo defeated Canisius 41-7. Not a surprise considering Buffalo finished at the top of their league as of last week, and Canisius near the bottom, but UB head coach Mickey McGuire was impressed by this year’s Crabbies.
“Canisius played their best game against Buffalo that they have in quite a few years," said McGuire. "I was happy to see that they had a core of guys that could play 80 minutes. This is good for the New York State Conference.”
Bravo to Buffalo point leader, Pat Boyce with the sum of 16 points from 1 try, four conversions and aq penalty goal. Other try scorers were Jason Hillard and Brandon Wood. Buffalo is looking to tighten up and consolidate their team for next week and reproduce the ball more.
In the other game, Binghamton defeated Cornell 40-19 keeping the lead the entire game with strong backs and a dominating defense. The win was a nice bounce-back for Binghamton from last week’s close loss.
Standings (unofficial):
Buffalo (2-0)
Syracuse (2-0)
Binghamton (1-1)
Brockport (1-1)
Albany (1-1)
Cornell (1-1)
Canisius (0-2)
Cortland (0-2)