UAlbany Rugby Archives 2003

Fall 2003

10/11/03 Albany 20 - RPI 26

By Nicole Russo, Troy, NY - The league season is over. And the UAlbany Men’s Rugby Team is not in the playoffs this year. Frustrating losses to rival Siena College and practically winless Paul Smith’s college crushed their hopes for a post season. Yet victories like their sixty-two to nothing rout over Colgate College cannot be forgotten when playing the ARFC. Unfortunately for Division I RPI, they had a memory lapse.

The first half of the game was painful to watch for the Great Danes’ sideline. Only minutes after the kick off, RPI ran into the Albany try zone, kicked a successful 2-point conversion, and had a quick l ead over the Great Danes. After a few weak drives by Albany and some threatening moves by RPI, they found the try zone again, kicked another good conversion, and were suddenly up by 14 points. It seemed that the Great Danes had enough then. They started actually winning rucks and made it to the RPI try line. Alas, they were turned back twice, once with the help of very costly penalties. Driven back to midfield, RPI saw another opportunity to score – and took it. The half ended with RPI holding a 19-point lead over the heads of the Great Danes.

It seemed like the stinging loss to a once winless team like Paul Smith’s had taken the wind out of the ARFC’s sails. The sidelines were quiet and reserved until a huddle was formed around injured team captain Sean Cummings and fly-half Anthony DeMartinis. DeMartinis’ speech could be head from 20 yards away, and once the whistle blew to begin the game,

After the kick off, the Great Danes drove quickly into RPI territory only to have four consecutive drives come up scoreless. After being pushed ba ck to the 20-meter line and suffering from terribly sloppy passes, penalties against RPI helped the Great Danes get to the RPI try line again. It was a run by DeMartinis who passed it to Erik Galway that finally put the Great Dan es on the board. Not long after the kick off to Albany, they drove back to R PI territory and scrum half Gavin Collins scored Albany’s second try. After a good conversion kick by DeMartinis, the Great Danes had disintegrated RPI’s lead from nineteen points to seven. That was not to last long, for Collins found the try zone after a long run and gave Albany yet another five points. As the game was drawing to a close, Albany was driving to RPI territory yet again, and Justin Longobardo passed to Collins at the try line and he touched it down for the third time. it seemed like he woke his sleepy team right up.

RPI allowed four unanswered Albany tries and it would remain that way until the final whistle. There was a "third half" played by the ARFC B-side that went scoreless to give the Division II Great Danes an incredible victory over Division I RPI. And with the Empire Rugby Festival coming up, the second-half shutout victory was a much needed morale booster for the slightly deflated ARFC.

10/11/03 Albany 20 - Paul Smith's College 26
By Nicole Russo, Paul smith's, NY - It was a disappointing outing for the ARFC on October 11th. Their road trip to Paul Smith’s College for their final game of league play dashed their hopes for a birth in the play offs of the Empire East Division II. Unfortunately, the Albany rugby team that played at Paul Smith’s looked entirely different from the team that shut out Colgate college 62-0 last week.

From the first whistle, it was obvious that the three-hour road trip took its toll on the Great Danes this time. Unlike in Plattsburgh last month, where the Great Danes were full of energy and dominated the game, they let the men of Paul Smith’s College push them all over the field. Even when Cullen Foote found his way into the try zone after a hard drive, the Great Danes could not get any momentum going. Anthony DeMartinis’ kick was blocked, giving the Great Danes only five points. Paul Smith’s answered the Albany try in a matter of minuets with one of their own and the kick was good, giving Paul Smith’s a two point lead. And the action stopped there. Penalties followed by lectures from the referee slowed the game down to a crawl. Neither team had the opportunity to get any momentum and the ball changed hands constantly from penalties and sloppy passes. Half time ended with the Great Danes at midfield after being pushed back from the Paul Smith’s try line.

After half time, it did not take long for the whistle to be blown again. There were three penalties called in the first two minutes of the second half. Both teams were to blame for the penalties, but the Great Danes seemed to be drawing the whistle more than their opponent. After a long and drawn out midfield battle, the Great Danes found their way into Paul Smith’s territory and managed to score three more points from a kick by DeMartinis. The Great Danes were not ahead by one point and were determined not to let the winless Paul Smith’s team beat them.

It was a high tackle call against the Great Danes in their own try zone that changed the mood of the game. A penalty try was awarded to Paul Smith’s giving them a six point lead. The Great Da nes needed to get a try and a good conversion kick to pull ahead of Paul Smith’s and they had about twelve minutes to get it. Paul Smith’s proved themselves to be a determined foe. For the rest of the game, the Great Danes could not touch down the ball in the try zone. With only seconds left in the game, Albany was at Paul Smith’s try line and another whistle calling a penalty sounded out and ended the game. Cries of outrage were heard from the Albany players and there would be hell to pay for it later. Two players have been suspended and there may be more to pay as the League investigates the circumstances of the game.

It was a sad end to a fall season that had high expectations of returning to the play-offs. But every cloud has a silver lining, as the ARFC is hosting the Empire Rugby Festival this Saturday, October 25th. There will be twelve teams in the tournament, and it is for those teams that did not qualify for their league playoffs. The action starts at 9 am behind Dutch Quad. Look for the goal posts and a lot of ruggers. Come and cheer on your Great Danes.

10/04/03 Albany 62 - Colgate University 0
09/27/03 Albany 23 - Union College 6

By Nicole Russo, Albany, NY - In their first home game of the season, the Men’s Rugby team followed up their win in Plattsburgh with another one against Union College. The Great Danes suffered a disappointing loss at the hands of Union last spring and hoped to return the favor on September 27th. It did not take the Great Danes long to score the ir first two trys against Union, both touched down by scrum half Gavin Collins. After a three-point conversion kick by the Great Danes, the score was now thirteen to nothing. It was almost at half time that Union finally managed to score, but was reduced to kicking for three points. Just before the end of the half, Justin "Longo" Longobardo made it into the try zone after a good pass from Justin "Gizmo" Horan to give the Great Danes a twelve-point lead. In the second half, penalties kept the game crawling, but that didn’t stop Kris Tatlonghari from finding the try zone. That was the last try of the game and the when the final whistle blew, the Great Danes had a 6-23 victory over Union.

The win over Union College was peanuts for the men’s team compared to their victory over Colgate College. Two years ago, Colgate embarrassed the Great Danes, scoring over fifty-points on them. The ARFC waited a long time for their revenge, and they proved that time doesn’t make a team forget, it makes them play even harder.

The game began with a kick off to the Great Danes. The kicking began and easily went on for about ten minutes with both teams scurrying all over the field trying to get an advantage. Finally, the Great Danes drove to the Colgate try zone, and after a long battle, Ben Frishman crossed the try line giving Albany the first score of the game. It was also to be the last score for either team for the rest of the half. Both teams were moving slowly, seemingly drained by the cold, rainy weather. The Great Danes seemed to be slowed down even more as their team captain Sean "Top Gun" Cummings was taken out of the game with a concussion. With the sidelines subdued and both teams looking half dead , the whistle blew signaling half time.

The Great Danes spent the entire half in a huddle. After the second half started, it became apparent to those watching the game that whatever was said in that huddle had an impact on the Great Danes. Albany drove almost immediately to Colgate territory, Giorgio Bianchi crossed the try line and Anthony DeMartinis’ kick was good giving the Great Danes a twelve-point lead. The Great Danes followed up with another drive and another try, this time touched down by Justin "Longo" Longobardi. Colgate replied by bringing back its kicking game, but they could gain no advantage. A long drive by Martin "Sandman" Telfer and Mike "Spud" Murphy brought the Great Danes back into Colgate territory but they were stopped at the try line. After a scrum down, Longobardo managed to drive to the try zone, passed it to Justin "Gizmo" Horan and he touched it down bringing the Great Danes score to twenty-two. After the next kick off, Albany brought it almost directly to the Colgate try line, and after a line out at the 5 meter line, Murphy touched it down for yet another Albany try. DeMartinis made another good kick and the score was now twenty-seven to nothing. After the next kick off, it did not take the Great Danes long to get to the Colgate five meter line. Longobardo drove it in again and DeMartinis’ kick hit the crossbar and bounced in. Each kickoff led to another try by Albany. Bill "Tinker bell" Bruno made two, Horan made another, and Bianchi made his second of the game. The game ended when DeMartinis’ final kick made it through the goal posts making the final score Colgate 0, Great Danes 62.
This week, the Great Danes await news on their qualification for the playoffs.

09/20/03 Albany 31 - SUNY Plattsburgh 12

By Nicole Russo, Plattsburgh, NY - Plattsburgh, NY – Last Saturday the ARFC traveled north to take on SUNY Plattsburgh (0-1) in a quest for their first win of the fall season. After a bitter defeat at the hands of rivals Siena College last week, the Great Danes were hungry for a victory.

The whistle blew to begin the match, and immediately the seesawing began. Both teams were driving hard up and down the field trying to draw first blood and hopefully the advantage. It was Plattsburgh who managed to score first; a good conversion kick (worth 2 points) followed a touch down (worth 5 points) in the try zone to put them ahead of the Great Danes. After the kick to Plattsburgh, it was more back and forth. A series of penalties at midfield slowed down the game more than once, making the first half seem to crawl. But the action was not the only thing dragging, the UAlbany team seemed to be moving in slow motion, losing rucks and their advantage, and subsequently being pushed all over the field. After a drive to the Plattsburgh try line, the Great Danes were pushed back and Plattsburgh managed to score another try. It was now twelve to nothing and the clouds that hung over the team after last week’s loss seemed to be descending fast.

Then there was another drive by Albany into Plattsburgh territory. The Great Danes made it to the try line a number of times, but Plattsburgh penalties kept stopping their advancement and the game. Finally, the referee had enough and declared an Albany try in response to another Plattsburgh penalty. The conversion kick by Anthony DeMartinis was good and the score was now 7-12. This seemed to wake the Great Danes right up, and after the kick to UAlbany, they drove straight down the field into Plattsburgh territory. Power forward Dan Fontanilla drove through the Plattsburgh forwards and passed the ball to DeMartinis who faked two defenders out of their boots and touched down to tie the game. DeMartinis followed up his try with another good kick, and as the whistle blew to end the half, the Great Danes had the lead.

In the second half of the game, both teams brought out their kicking games. The ball was airborne for the first 5 minutes of the half, both teams giving chase up and down the field about six times. Finally, Plattsburgh took possession and made a drive down to Albany territory only to be turned away by the Great Dane defense. A fast break by Albany sent the teams barreling down to the Plattsburgh try line where DeMartinis passed the ball to Justin Horan who touched it down to give the Great Danes a seven point lead over Plattsburgh. This fired the Great Danes up even more and the rugby Albany was playing screamed play-offs to those watching on the sidelines. It was not long after Horan’s try that the Great Danes marched downfield to the Plattsburgh try line and Justin Longobardo fought his way into the try zone giving the Great Danes a twelve point lead over Plattsburgh. As time was starting to run down, Plattsburgh fought their way to the Albany try line, threatening to end the Great Dane’s shut-out half. But Plattsburgh was once again turned away and the Great Danes advanced downfield to score yet another try as Cullen Foote ran to the try line and passed it to Longobardo who once again touched it down.

When the final whistle blew, it was Albany 31, Plattsburgh 12. It was the ARFC’s first win of the fall, and a major one at that. After playing three games in seven days and losing two of them, this major win (on the road, no less) shows what the ARFC is capable of.

This Saturday at 1:00pm, the Great Danes take on Colgate College at their second home game of the season on the field behind Dutch Quad.
09/17/03 Albany 15 - Siena College 22

By Nicole Russo, Loudonville, NY - On the first rainy day Albany saw in two weeks, the UAlbany Rugby Football club traveled to Lincoln Park to take on the Albany Law football club and the Albany Knickerbocker C-Old Boys.

In the first game the ARFC B-Side took on Albany Law’s A-Side. The Great Danes put up a fight, but were shut out by the experienced Law team. The final score was Albany Law A-Side 31, Great Danes B-Side 0. It was a tough time for the mostly rookie team, who beat the New Paltz B-Side 0-7 last Saturday.

In the second game the ARFC A-Side took on the Knicks in their second pre-league season game. The Knicks scored two tries against the Great Danes before they answered back with their own try and successful conversion kick from Anthony "Skid Mark" DeMartinis. Not long after, Justin "Longo" Longobardo found the try zone and DeMartinis kicked another good conversion to tie the game. After halftime, the Knicks came back to score three more unanswered tries. The final score was Albany 14, Knickerbockers 33. It was the second defeat ARFC suffered after a 14-8 loss to New Paltz last week.

With those two losses behind them, the ARFC (0-0) was ready to face their long time rivals, the Siena Saints (0-1) to officially start the fall season. The Great Danes were the Empire East Division II Undefeated Champions last fall with a loss to Siena in the playoffs the only black mark on their record. The following spring, in the Great Danes final game of the year, Siena embarrassed Albany, beating them 29-7. Revenge was sworn on that field at Siena College and the Great Danes returned there on Wednesday to make do on their promise.

The game started with a kick off to Albany. Siena took possession and drove into Albany territory. They ended their drive with a kick for three points, drawing first blood. Siena took the next kickoff and drove to midfield where the Great Danes stopped them. Both teams then put their kicking game into motion and both teams were tearing up and down the field trying to gain and keep possession. Most of the action remained at midfield, neither team gaining any real ground. Finally, a break away run by Marty "Sandman" Telfer brought the great Danes into Siena territory. After a display of passing under pressure, the Great Danes brought the ball to the try zone where it was touched down my Ben "Weirdo" Frishman giving Albany five points and the lead. The conversion kick, booted by Anthony "Skid Mark" DeMartinis was good, giving Albany a 7-3 lead over Siena. The Saints answered back with a try of their own giving them a one-point lead over the Great Danes. After that, it was again a midfield battle for purchase until Albany began a slow drive into Siena territory. A Siena penalty on the Great Danes gave them the chance to kick for points, and once again, DeMartinis came through. The kick was just long enough and it hit the suspension bar of the goal post, bouncing through for three points. Albany now led 10-8 going into the halftime.

At the whistle, the Great Danes burst onto the field with renewed energy from their successful first half, pushing Siena all over the field. The action soon concentrated itself at midfield until both teams resumed kicking and vying for scoring position. After a scrum down at midfield, Siena tried to again boot the ball into Albany territory, but the kick was blocked by scrum half Gavin Collins’…face. He was down for the rest of the play, but did not leave the game and was back in action for the next drive. Siena managed another try in the time Collins was down and again took the lead. After the kick to Siena, the Great Danes took possession and began another drive into Siena territory. As the Great Danes were slowly battling their way toward the try zone, Telfer again broke away from the pack and was brought down short of the try zone, but not before passing the ball off to Mike "Spud" Murphy who touched down to tie the game 15-15.

This was when things started to turn ugly. Tempers on the Siena side began to flare, and in traditional Siena fashion, they started pushing and shoving after the whistle was blown and getting cheap shots whenever they could. As a fight started to break out in Albany territory, a cry came from the Albany sidelines, "Let the women do the slapping, we play the rugby!" This riled up the Great Danes and drove Siena back to their own territory. The clock was running down and there was talk about overtime when Siena managed to score a disputed try. Cries of "He dropped the ball!" were heard from the Albany sidelines as the Siena side cheered. By now the score was 15-22 with less than 2 minutes left to play. Not willing to let the Saints beat them again, Albany gained quick possession of the ball and drove hard to the Siena try line. Three Albany breakouts were smothered and somehow the ball found a Siena player who took it back deep into Albany territory. It was then that the final whistle blew, delivering the Great Danes a heart breaking defeat. But coach John Durant was not going to let them walk away disheartened. "Everyone we face in playoffs is going to have one loss." He told his players. "We are still going to win this league." The one reprieve the Great Danes had was the Albany B-Side running over the Siena B Side, shutting them out 15-0.

And so begins the ARFC Fall 2003 league season. Saturday the Great Danes traveled to Plattsburgh to: "Take it out on them," said Coach Durant.

09/13/03 Albany 14 - Albany Knickerbocker C-Old Boys 33

By John Lubowsky, Albany, NY - The Danes lose a tough one to the crafty veterans of the Albany Knickerbocker's C-old Boys 33-14. The Danes came out strong with lock Justin Longobardi rambling in from 10 meters out to score under the post. DeMartinis made the conversion. Demartinis then made a long 50 yard break from his fly half spot to score under the posts and convert his own score. The second half was all Knicks scoring wise. The Danes were able to control much of their own ball but couldn't muster up a score. The knicks picked apart the Danes back line with strong running and crafty misdirection.

The Danes "B" led off the morning with a 15-0 loss to Albany Law A. The Danes played hard and controlled the game but their vast inexperience could not make up for their enthusiasm and superior athletic ability.

09/06/03 Albany 8 - New Paltz 14

By John Lubowsky, New Paltz, NY - The Danes started the season with a loss at D1 Met NY SUNY New Paltz 14- 8 in a sloppy game. After only three practices, the Danes showed their lack of fitness and cohesiveness. New Paltz kept things simple by spinning the ball to their hard running outside center for crash ball. Using their large pack to maintain ball and eventualy scoring two similar trys on the wing off second phase. Albany scored late in the half on a DeMartinis penalty kick from 22 meteres straight on.

Albany came out hard for the second half and controlled much of the tempo but could not muster up any scores. With 8 min left in the match lock Marty Telfer fielded a deep kick inside the Albany 22 and countered to outside Justin Rizzo who bolted up the left sideline to the NP 15 before being tackled. The ruck ball was fed to Erik Galaway who scored in the corner. DeMartinis' conversion fell short. Albany "B" s took the second match 7 - 0 on freshman prop Dan Harnet's one meter plunge.

Albany NotesAlbany traveled to NP with 47 players. Some more notable recruits include scrum half Gavin Collins from the UK (Nottingham U.)and Xavier High Freshman Giorgio Bianchi,Kris Tattonghari and Parker Smith. The squad takes on Albany Law School in a scrimmage this Saturday before taking on arch rival and defending NYSRC D2 Champs Siena College at the swamp in Loudonville on Wednesday, 9/17/03.