SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Endicott men's club rugby team traveled to CCRC opponent Western New England over the weekend. After a second half surge by the Gulls they soared to a 24-20 victory. Endicott improves to 3-2 on the season and sit at fifth in the conference. Endicott will take the field next on Saturday, October 18th as they host conference opponent Wentworth for a 9:00 a.m. matchup at Endicott Stadium.
The Blue and Green played a hard fought match against their largest opponent yet, Western New England. They had a huge pack and easily outweighed the Gulls by 250 pounds. The game was very physical with both sides going hard on every play.
Endicott went up first with a nice quick play by senior Joe Desjardins (North Woodstock, N.H.) off a penalty who linked up with junior Brian Sussingham (Yonkers, N.Y.) for the early tally followed by a conversion to make it 7-0. The Golden Bears did not stay down long and answered with two unconverted tries off miscues by Endicott. The Gulls retaliated with some great rucking work that culminated with a great run from the backs and a tally by junior Rob Wimpory (Groveland, Mass.) for a 12-0 score. Before the end of the half the Golden Bears were able to cut the lead down to two after scoring 10 points.
The second half found Endicott clearly in control. Strong rucking by the forwards and great running by the backs kept the ball in Western New England territory most of the half. Some good passing by the backs allowed a looping Desjardins to put the Gulls up 17 - 10. A couple of key injuries late in the second half changed the balance of power in the forwards. The Golden Bears started pushing Endicott around in the scrums and, consequently, every infraction ended up a turnover in favor of WNE who eventually punched one over in the corner to make it 17 - 15.
However the efforts proved to be too little too late as both teams scored once more to make the final 24 - 20.
The Gulls once again played a disciplined, spirited game. Their ability to follow the game plan combined with an unbelievable commitment to winning has allowed them to win three of their last four games and kept them squarely in the hunt for the playoffs. A win next Saturday against Wentworth would clinch the #2 position in the CCRC North division.
