MEN'S RUGBY

NORTHFIELD, Vt. - On the first chilly fall Saturday of the year, the Norwich men's rugby team fell to No. 18 Boston College, 50-0. From the beginning, Norwich knew this was to be a challenge. Boston College had defeated Yale, 47-0, and lost to undefeated Army, 24-17, in the last two weeks.

Early on, the match belonged to Norwich as the Cadets took possession shortly after the opening kickoff and kept the ball deep inside Eagles' territory, but could not convert into points. Excellent defensive pressure came in the form of some hard and low tackling by junior prop Brad Panasiti and senior flanker Drew Caplin.

Eventually, Boston College got on track and scored in the corner at the 11th minute mark. Norwich held strong in attack and defense, but some excellent kicking from BC brought them back each time. The Eagles pinned the "Wick" in its own end and scored off a penalty kick with 21 minutes in to bring the score to 8-0. A few minutes later they had some outstanding backline movement and scored their second try of day, and after 23 minutes Boston College extended its lead to 13-0.

At a lineout from BC's 20-meter line, Norwich drove forward. After eight phases of play Boston College is called for a penalty one foot from the in-goal. Norwich takes the penalty and proceeds for another four phases but is unable to penetrate the in-goal.  The Wick displayed outstanding rucking and discipline at the point of contact, sealing the ball. They were unlucky not to score.

Boston College closed out the half with another try in the corner as the Eagles led 18-0 at halftime. The score was not indicative of the effort put forth by the "Wick."

Boston College began the second half determined to display their athletic backline, and they scored another try in the corner at the third minute of the second half. They added three more at the 10th, 15th and 18th minutes of the half to bring the score to 40-0.

Halfway into the second half, senior captain scrumhalf Todd Howe left the pitch with a bruised shoulder and was substituted by freshman Matt Hart of Brookline, N.H. The "Wick" continued to put forth effort against a strong athletic BC squad, but the Eagles finished the scoring with two more tires to end the day with a final score 50-0.

"We're a young team to begin with, and to have five seniors on the sidelines with injuries was tough," said NU head coach Bob Weggler. "I was proud of the ways the guys battled against a top-ranked club like Boston College."

The second and third sides put forth excellent effort of their own, losing 29-7 and 19-0, respectively. 

"Our young club is getting valuable match experience against tough competition," Weggler added. 

Freshman Bryon Steuber got his first start at outside center and senior Drew Caplin was named "Man of the Match" in his first start at flanker.

Norwich's next match will be at Connecticut on Saturday, Oct. 20. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.