Men’s Division I
The men’s Division I postseason began with the winning clubs earning a trip to the Mid-Atlantic Conference championship in different ways. Northern Virginia (NOVA) started strong in the first half to cruise to a 47-29 win while Rocky Gorge came back from a halftime deficit to score four second half tries for the 48-28 victory.
In NOVA’s triumph over Schuylkill River, coach Joe Tropea stated it the best, “we started out fast scoring in the first two minutes and had a 31-3 lead right before halftime. Our aggressive defense didn’t allow them to get in the game. NOVA’s man of the match goes to inside center Eric Populus. He started off the scoring, led the midfield, and had a second try at the end of the first half.”
On the other hand, Rocky Gorge encountered more difficulty than it imagined in its semifinal against the Potomac Exiles. Potomac played tight and tough to take a 21-19 halftime lead before Gorge woke up in the second half. Gorge outscored the Exiles 29-7 after the break to book its trip to the DI final.
“It was back and forth in the first half,” Gorge captain Nick Kuhl said. “They capitalized on some bad turnovers on our part. At the half, we were calm and knew to just stick to our game plan and we would be okay. Our subs came in and made a huge impact for us.”
As for the championship in two weeks, NOVA knows it must play its game to come out on top. “[Rocky Gorge] is very disciplined in their play and have multiple playmakers,” Tropea said. “We need to take care of the ball, do the little things correctly, and dictate the pace of the match. If we do that, we will win.”
Gorge will not take NOVA lightly and will bring its A game to the final. “If we want to win it all, we need to play well for 80 minutes,” Kuhl concluded.
Women’s Division I
The final leg of the Gold Cup was this weekend as the Midwest’s Metropolis Valkyries ventured east to play the Mid-Atlantic’s Philadelphia and Raleigh. Detroit supposed to join its Midwest counterparts but it was not able to travel. Therefore, the Valkyries played two teams on back-to-back days with Philadelphia pulling out the 32-26 victory on Saturday and Raleigh clipping their wings on Sunday by a score of 53-10.
“The #1 seed is nice to have but it is largely symbolic,” NOVA coach Brian Walker stated. “It means that after a 1-1 start in league play last fall that we showed some consistency this spring in going 3-0. Seedings won’t matter once the teams line up and the first kickoff occurs on day one of MACs. All four of the playoff teams in MACs have shown in previous years and this year that they are good enough to win not only the conference but the region as well.”
In the last match before the DI East playoffs begin in May, NOVA secured the #1 seed with a 53-0 win over Charlotte. NOVA draws Boston in Raleigh on May 4th while Philadelphia will play Raleigh in the semifinals.
Men’s Division II
The top squads from the Capital Rugby Union (CGU) and Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union (EPRU) squared off in the region semifinals on Saturday. When the dust settled, Old Gaelic will challenge the top-seeded Doylestown for the EPRU title and Raleigh is at Richmond for the CGU championship in two weeks.
Doylestown, the #1 club in the EPRU, showed why it is the team to beat DII playoffs by torching the Lancaster Roses, 55-7. It was a team effort for the Dragons as seven players found the tryzone. “[It was] all 23 are working as one,” coach Mike McCandless said. “They are executing the game plan and they all know where we are going next.” Outside center Bruce Dolan earned the game ball by seeing the spaces and hitting them at pace putting his team on the front foot.
Awaiting the Dragons in EPRU final will be Old Gaelic, who vanquished Philadelphia-Whitemarsh, 49-31, in its semifinal. Old Gaelic took the early lead and never relinquished it. “We beat them in open play and broken plays,” captain Brian Hart said. “We had really good support when our backs broke through and that was most our key to success.”
The EPRU final will be a rematch from September where Doylestown handed Old Gaelic its only loss of the season. McCandless said, “to maintain the success moving forward, we need to amp up our communication defensively and organize immediately.” On the other side, Hart remarked, “Old Gaelic has to be more effective inside our own 22, not commit as many penalties, and make sure we are looking up and out from the rucks, and identifying when they are attacking in the next phase.”
Down in the CGU, Washington was snake bit by Raleigh to the tune of a 50-10 loss. Raleigh was originally supposed to play Virginia, but because of injury issues, Washington took its place in the semifinal. It didn’t matter to the Vipers as Romaen Campbell, Ian Fraser, and Shane McBride each scored a pair of tries in the win.
Coach Mark Hemingway indicated that ball retention, even in the muddy conditions was paramount. “We dominated the set piece and executed our game plan.”
In the #2 versus #3 matchup, the Richmond Lions got their revenge against James River after falling to them twice in the regular season. Trailing for the entire game, the Lions were within striking distance late and flyhalf Dylan Maris scored the game-winner in the 75th minute for the 26-22 victory.
“There were really slick conditions and both teams battled hard,” coach Tom Domino said. “River put up a very physical game, as always. They countered our first try to get up 22-5 and we managed to come back. We tackled well, kicked and chased well, and minimized mistakes when it mattered.”
Richmond beat Raleigh in the first match of the season, but the Vipers took the encore. “We are going to prepare for Raleigh by focusing on our game and tightening up the fundamentals,” Domino stated. Hemingway will concentrate on increasing Raleigh’s defensive pressure in the two weeks before the CGU final.
Women’s Division II
The DII EPRU season concluded on Saturday with wins from Doylestown and Phoenixville White Horse. With the 44-34 victory over #1 seed Harrisburg, Phoenixville captured the second seed in the North.
In the CGU, the top two seeds have been locked up. The first and second place teams squared off in a potential playoff preview and Severn River blanked the Norfolk Storm, 51-0.
The semifinals in Pittsburgh will be Harrisburg versus Norfolk and Phoenixville White Horse against Severn River.
Men’s Division III
The DIII Central championship between the Washington Irish and Rocky Gorge was the epitome of the best of Mid-Atlantic rugby. It turned out to be a 100-minute slugfest after the teams were knotted at 21-21 at the end of regulation. The squads continued to exchange blows in overtime and it came down to Gorge at the doorstep late in the second 10 minute OT period. The forwards pounded the line sucking in the defense when flyhalf Brandon Drummond found wing Jason Bland on the weak side for the 38-35 game-winning try.
Rocky Gorge captain Zaven Mnatzakanian summed up the experience in one word, perseverance. “Guys playing their butts off, playing tough, and not giving up. We scored at the very end of the game to win it. It was ridiculous. Our scrumhalf, Brandon Drummond, played an amazing game.”
“With the top two teams in the division, we expected a physical battle to the end and it came down to who had the last possession,” Irish coach JP Perez said. “We're proud of what we accomplished [this season, especially in the spring going from seventh place to the playoffs]. We could have used more time and another possession in the end.”
In the EPRU semifinals, one team fell from the unbeaten ranks and another kept the streak alive with a blowout. Wilkes-Barre Scranton got its comeuppance and handed Media a 43-19 loss while the Northeast Philadelphia Irish crushed Brandywine, 65-5.
Wilkes-Barre pounced on Media early and coach Jack Bukowski said, “the key to the win was our reserves coming on and not setting us back at all. We used our whole roster due to a few injury and tactical subs, but we continued executing our systems superbly.”
The Breakers will need to heal up before facing their next foe. “We need to concentrate on our field awareness,” Bukowski remarked. “We are creating penalties on areas of the pitch that did and will continue to hurt us unless cleaned up. The NE Irish is an extremely physical, talented side so it should be a fun day of rugby.”
NE Irish’s semifinal against Brandywine was a blend of striking offense and stout defense. Riley McKee, Tommy Saunders, and Timothy Florentino each scored two in the win and McKee earned the man of the match running the show at #10.
“The key to the win was good offloading in pivotal moments and the proper support to make those key offloads,” coach Tim Morris stated. “We secured our ball at the breakdowns and were just in the right position on defense. The most effective part of our game today was defensive positioning and tackling. It helped lead to turnovers and subsequent tries.”
The NE Irish will rely on its suffocating defense against Wilkes-Barre. “We just need to stick to our defense and keep being in the right position all the time,” Morris said. “We get our points off of playing good defense and forcing the other team to make bad decisions or turn the ball over.”
Women’s Division III
With the EPRU finishing last weekend, the CGU’s Maryland Stingers wrapped up their season with a 46-0 shutout of NOVA. The Stingers will represent the CGU as the #1 seed and will play Philadelphia in the semifinals. Rappahannock still has one more game to play in before it draws South Jersey in the second semifinal in Pittsburgh.
Men’s Division IV
In the final Saturday of the regular season, Phoenixville White Horse secured its berth in the DIV championship with a 110-0 shutout of the Baltimore Flamingos. Phoenixville will play the Washington Renegades in the final in Pittsburgh, Pa. on May 4th. Lastly, North Bay beat the Washington Scandals, 48-31, to end its season.
