BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott men's rugby team earned a hard-fought victory over UMass Dartmouth in their season and home opener last Sunday by a score of 26-17.
The Gulls jumped out to an early 21-0 lead, as graduate student Nick Iavicoli (Kalispell, Mont.) scored two tries and sophomore Chris Faust (Beverly, Mass.) scored once. Endicott maintained a well-balanced offense throughout the first half, with multiple student-athletes assisting in their overall success.
Late in the second half, UMass Dartmouth battled back and was able to close their first half deficit to within nine points. However, senior veterans Jesse Adelberg (Old Greenwich, Conn.), Ryan McKenna (New Canaan, Conn.), Nick Rowe (Avon, Conn.), and Marc Lerebours (Norwalk, Conn.) exhibited great poise down the stretch and were able to help the team seal the win.
"Not pretty, but a win is a win", said Endicott men's rugby head coach Dave Kenkel. "We tackled well and saw some great play from Ryan McKenna and freshmen Matthew Gash-Gilder (Kalispell, Mont.) and Zachary Nadeau (Rutland, Mass.)."
Moving forward, the Gulls will travel to Springfield, Massachusetts to take on the Golden Bears of Western New England University on Saturday, September 23rd at 11 AM. For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
(Photo credit - Mike Conners)