Men's Rugby 

ALBANY, N.Y. - In the second of their bi-annual rivalry match, Southern Vermont College Men faced University of Albany. This is the fifth time in two years the teams have faced and the third time SVC has played at U Albany. The first time the two teams faced, SVC prevailed at home, then SVC tied against Albany on the road. Last fall, SVC faced Albany on the road in a scrimmage and won. Albany also traveled last fall to SVC and SVC was once again victorious. This game would prove no different as SVC dominated U Albany on the road and walked away victorious, 43-19

The game opened with Albany scoring first on an error in the Mountaineers defense. They were successful in their kick and the Great Danes were on top. Fly half, captain, Andy Macnaughton then attempted his trade mark play where he took the U Albany extra points attempt and quickly ran down the field and booted to open space when the Great Danes were unprepared. One of the confuse Albany players then knocked the ball on giving SVC a scrum down. SVC one the scrum got the ball out to Macnaughton who then proceeded to duck and dodge several defenders to take the ball in for a try. Fullback, Mike Nosek, was unsuccessful with the kick and the Mountaineers were still behind, 7-5. U Albany answered back, driving down the field and scoring again and making good on their kick to leave the score at 14-5 in favor of the Great Danes. Macnaughton once again tried his signature play, but this time, Albany was ready for it. Albany failed to catch the ball in the air and the ball bounced into the hands of wing, Dan Sturrock, giving him the gift of five points. Nosek was once again unsuccessful and the half ended with SVC down, 14-10.

"The first half was tough. Albany is very sound in the fundamentals and kept finding holes in our defense. They were also very strong in the rucks but would commit five or more players to them. At halftime, we made some adjustments, quit worrying about the rucks and had more guys to just play defense."

These adjustments paid off. SVC came out and dominated Albany for the rest of the game. Among the scores made were, Lock, Jess Clausnitzer on a penalty play, Macnaughton on duck and dodge break, 8-man, Mike Skidmore on a short crash, Sturrock on an overload, and Lock Matt Perry on a short crash. Nosek was four for five on kicks in the second half. Albany was able to score once more late in the second half but was unsuccessful on the kick and the game ended with a score of 43-19.

"It took a little while for our guys to get into the game, but as they did, they were unstoppable. Albany is a solid team. They have tons of guys and are very talented in the Upper New York Union. But we prevailed against them because of the hard work of our unit."

The Mountaineers are undefeated in the past two years against rival U Albany 4-0-1 mark. The men's rugby team will play next on Saturday, April 19th, at the SVC pitch, in their seventh annual Mud Bowl Tournament. The tournament will start at 10 am and all are invited to watch.