The Yale University Rugby Football Club

Yale Drops Friendly to UConn

After completing its inaugural Ivy League season with a loss to Dartmouth in the Ivy League playoffs, Yale looked to tune up for Harvard with a match against UConn. Coming off a tough fall season, UConn was extremely motivated to end their season on a high note against their in-state rivals. Yale started the match fast, kicking off to the Huskies and delivering some big hits. UConn's atempts to clear their zone were countered well by the Yale back three, and the pressure was on UConn for much of the first half. UConn's defense eventually surrendered a penalty, which was neatly converted by fullback Ryan Vandersloot '11 to give Yale a 3-0 lead. Unfortunately, a mistake off the kickoff allowed UConn to answer quickly with a penalty of their own, bringing the score to 3-3. Yale seemed to settle down after this, and dominated play for the next 15 to 20 minutes. Vandersloot was able to slot another penalty, and flanker Phil Constantinou '11 crashed through the UConn line off of a lineout move to bring the count to 13-3 Yale. UConn scored a soft try to bring the score to 13-10. Yale lost a bit of momentum when they allowed UConn to score off of a scrum near their goal line, bringing the halftime score to 13-17.

Unfortunately, Yale's focus diminished in the second half. UConn began to dominate the set pieces, in part due to some inexperienced players filling in in the pack. Yale spent most of the second half in their end, unable to clear due to trouble in the lineouts and scrums. After spending a while in the Yale end, UConn was able to score an opportunistic try after a ball squirted out of a ruck to give them a 24-13 lead. At this point, Yale decided to wake back up. The Elis marched down the field and earned a penalty, converted by Vandersloot to bring the score to 24-16. Vandersloot stepped up once again, taking a well-weighted pass from captain Pat Madden '10 and racing to the try line on a beautiful run that he touched down under the posts. He quickly kicked the conversion, but unfortunately the referee blew for full time before Yale could restart. While certainly a winnable game, Yale simply did not sustain a full 80 minute effort needed to come away with a victory. However, the play of some of Yale's younger players, many of whom played extensive minutes in the friendly, was extremely encouraging, and the experience gained will surely pay off in the future.

Final Score: Yale 23 - UConn 24

Due to a shortage of UConn players, the Yale Bs played a single 40 minute period against the Huskies. The Bulldogs showed their improvement since the start of the season, beating down a severely overmatched UConn squad. Center Alex Porro '13, wing Dan O'Brien '13, and 8 Man Jules Terrien '12 all had strong games for the Yale B side.

Final Score: Yale 35 - UConn 0