MEN'S RUGBY

NORTHFIELD, Vt. - On a spectacular fall day in central Vermont, the family weekend crowd was treated to a battle between the Yale Bulldogs and the Norwich Cadets.  The match, which featured six lead changes in the first half, was won by Yale, 29-22.

At Norwich's five-meter line, Miley Massed stole Yale's lineout throw. The Wick's forwards continued the surge to the in-goal line. At the ruck, freshman hooker Ryan Wunder picked and drove over for the first points of the day. Senior captain Todd Howe converted, and 10 minutes into the match Norwich led 7-0.

In the course of the next six minutes, Yale got a penalty kick and an unconverted try to take the lead 8-7.

Four minutes later, Norwich drove at a 10-minute lineout, and finished it off with junior Brad Panasiti placing the ball down for the try. Norwich retook the lead 12-8.

At the 31st minute, Yale's scrumhalf took a quick tap on a Norwich penalty, which created another try for the Eli. Yale retakes the lead 15-12.

At the restart, Todd Howe ripped the ball away from Yale and Norwich maintains possession through six phases of play, culminating with junior flyhalf Kevin Bishop kicked ahead to junior center Matt Burke, who caught the ball in full stride, dashed 20 meters, and dove over for a fan-pleasing and well planned-out try. Norwich captures the lead for the third time, 17-15.

Shortly after the ensuing kickoff, Norwich was called for offsides and Yale attempted a penalty kick. It falls short but Norwich is unable to clear and knocks the ball on, resulting in a five-meter scrum for Yale. At the scrum, Yale surged over but was held up by Norwich. Yale's second five-meter scrum resulted in a try. Yale converted to retake the lead at 22-17.

In the waning moments of the first half, Norwich came storming back, hoping for a seventh lead change. Flyhalf Kevin Bishop cut through the Yale's defense inside the 22-meter line, and at the five-meter line Yale was called for a penalty. Senior lock Miley Massed left the match with an injury and is replaced by senior Joel Anderson. With the substitution some confusion followed and in the ensuing play, Norwich was called for an obstruction penalty. As the clock ticked down, Norwich had yet another chance to possibly score, since Yale's clearing kick stayed inside the 22. Norwich won its lineout and was driving forward toward the try line when the referee whistled the "Wick" for obstruction on their driving maul.

"These missed opportunities were unfortunate," said NU head coach Bob Weggler.  

A fast-paced first half comes to an end with Yale holding onto a 22-17 lead.

The second half turned into a defensive battle. Yale scored a converted try early on, widening its lead to 29-17. Sophomore lock Mike Presseau retaliated with Norwich's fourth try of the day off a five-meter lineout. With 21 minutes remaining, the scoreboard read, Yale 29 - Norwich 22.

The hard-fought match continued, with play moving back and forth from one end of the field to the other. With 10 minutes left in the match, Matt Burke was given a yellow card and sent to the "sin bin" for a dangerous tackle, leaving Norwich to finish the game with only 14 men. Despite playing short-handed, the "Wick" battled intensely, but was unable to put more points on the board.

"The boys, through injuries, have persevered and performed valiantly today," said Weggler. "Our focus was to win, however, even with the loss, the effort and development shown by the team cannot be overlooked. We are improving with every match."

The second and third sides are also developing and improving. The second side lost 19-12 and the third side lost 12-5.

Injury report: Senior flanker Justin Howard, ("Man of the Match" for the Harvard contest) went down in the first half and is out for the season with a broken collar bone.  In addition, senior lock Miley Massed and junior flanker Brad Panasiti, ("Man of the Match" for the Army contest) are out for at least a week, if not two, with bruised shoulders.

This Saturday, Oct. 6, Norwich travels to Hanover, N.H., to take on the Big Green of Dartmouth. Kick-off time is slated for noon at Dartmouth's Rugby Facility.