Men's Rugby 

Local College Sports News, Staff Reports

POULTNEY, Vt. - They may be Mountaineers, but the men of SVC rugby had a tough time bringing down Green Mountain on Sunday and lost, 24-14.

SVC fell behind 17-0 within the first 23 minutes of play, and then saw a second-half rally fall short as they dropped to 1-2 in conference play. Madison said that the host team brought the wood unlike any other foe that the Mountaineers share the pitch with.

"Green Mountain is probably the hardest-hitting team we'll face all season," Madison said. "In fact, they're probably the hardest-hitting team in the division."

After digging themselves a 17-0 hole early, the Mountaineers fought back and "finished the first half hard" according to Madison. Fortune turned SVC's way in the second half, as a goal-line stand by Green Mountain some 10 minutes in ended with Mountaineer Mike Colgan (Hebron, CT) diving in for his team's first try.

SVC fullback Mike Nosek (Wheelwright, MA/Quabbin HS) slotted the conversion, cutting the home team's lead to 17-7.

The Mountaineer defense came up huge some 10 minutes later, holding the ball up in the visitors' try zone four different times to deny Green Mountain another score. SVC then marched back down the pitch and got into another goal-line battle, with rookie Pete Winchester (West Winfield, NY/Eastern York HS) finally punching the ball in. Nosek was once again true with his kick, and Madison's crew found itself within striking distance at 17-14.

But Green Mountain was able to score a final decisive try in injury time, a final goal-line stand by the Mountaineers couldn't keep the home team out.

"Our guys really rallied together," Madison said. "We just couldn't overcome the deficit at the end."

Regardless of the match's outcome, the Mountaineers still harbor aspirations of postseason rugby - provided they can dig in for a staunch home defense, something they have shown a strong ability to do in recent seasons.

"Our last two conference games are at home, and if we win out we can sneak into the playoffs," Madison said. "We haven't lost a regular-season conference game at home in three years, so it's just a matter of taking care of business."

That challenge begins next Saturday, when the Mountaineers host Vermont Tech at the Beech Street pitch at 11 a.m.