Super A's Crush Rutland, Advance to State Championship

The Saratoga Mustangs Girls Super A Team moved on to the State Championship Game with a 37-0 blowout victory over the #3 seed Rutland on Wednesday at SUNY Albany. After completing a 6-1 regular season campaign in which they outscored opponents 115-31, and after mashing its way to a NYMA Cup Championship last weekend with wins over Springfield and a combined team from Springfield and Albany/Schenectady/Rennselaer, Saratoga picked up right where it left off using a combination of smashing runs by the forwards and quick passes to the speedy backs to out pace Rutland. Stout defense also limited Rutland to only two serious scoring threats, both of which were turned away by Saratoga's swarming "Guard Dog" defense.

Saratoga's offense was clicking once again and was run masterfully by senior scrum-half Emily Wexler (Burnt Hills). Through Wexler's distribution of the ball and own ball running ability, Saratoga was able to pound inside runs by forwards Jess Sears (Burnt Hills), Jenny von Rosen (Burnt Hills), Tiffany Neach (Burnt Hills), and Shelby Snyder Scotia-Glenville), forcing Rutland to commit extra bodies to rucks and mauls. From there, Saratoga used its quick line to get to the edges of the pitch, with looping runs by Wexler, countering penetrating running by speedsters Carly Baker (Averil Park), Leah Gerlach (Burnt Hills), Autumn Vanderveer (Burnt Hills), and Sam Coluccio (Burnt Hills). Fly-half Joann Pettis (Burnt Hills) also frustrated Rutland by creating overloads from taking on two or even three defenders at a time before dishing the ball out to her line mates.

Saratoga also took a large step forward with its defense. One of the more difficult aspects of the growing club has been mastering the offense instituted during the middle of last season by pack coach Aaron Noble. Littered with heavy hitters, the Mustangs have been able to use its sure tackling and aggressiveness to shut down most offenses before they could get started, resulting in six shutout victories on the season. Better teams, such as Essex and Adirondack, however, were able to find holes and score points on the young club. One of the team's focuses during the week was solidifying its defense, and behind flankers Shannon Dowdle (Burnt Hills) and Jordan Scacchetti (Burnt Hills), and eight man, Eva Meier (Ballston Spa), Rutland found itself running sideways on most plays, unable to get much of anything going. On the occasional breakthrough, rookie phenom Joya Clark (Scotia-Glenville) was able to crush potential breakaways with her notoriously brutal tackles from fullback. It was the first time the defense played evenly team wide and the result was staggering.

Saratoga's Super A's improved to 7-1 on the season and will face rival Adirondack in the Vermont State Championship in Colchester, VT. In only its second year of existence and first year in the Vermont Youth Rugby Association, Saratoga has the opportunity to bring home its first state title.

Not Enough Spring in the Boys' Steps at Springfield U19's

The Saratoga Mustang Boys headed to Springfield on Saturday, for what was supposed to a four-team tournament. Instead, the only boys' game of the day was played with Saratoga and Springfield, between a plethora of girls' games. The Mustang numbers on the day had about half of the allowed substitutions as only 19 boys were kitted. Springfield showed up with less than the fifteen starters required for match play, so they played down iron-man style.
The game opened up with the speedy Springfield backs gaining a score in the second minute. Back and forth play continued, but it was Springfield that was on top 17-0 by the 19th minute. With a key discussion by Coach Sawyer after the latest opponent try, the Mustangs came back forcefully with some forward brilliance and swung the ball wide to rookie wing, Alex Pulling (B. Spa, junior), who sprinted ahead of the opposition and put the Mustangs on the board. Two minutes later, Mustangs' work-horse and 8-man, Mike Matrazzo (BHBL, junior), fought through some mid-field traffic on his way to a long try. Matrazzo added the conversion as the Mustangs were now down 17-12.
Springfield came back with another well orchestrated try by their skilled flyhalf, as they jumped back up 24-12 with a try and a conversion. One minute later, however, Pulling caught the ball at pace on the wing and put the Mustangs back within a try, as Matrazzo converted once more. As time expired, though, Springfield grounded another ball in-goal for a 29-19 lead.
Personnel stayed mostly the same going into the second period, as only one forward substitution was made. The second half started fast as the first one did; however, it the Mustangs that made the first quick moves with the ball. At the 40th minute, Saratoga flyhalf, Dan Godshalk (BHBL, senior) ran a beautiful switch to inside center Brian Little (BHBL, senior). Little gained decent ground and as he became held up, popped the ball to the sprinting Godshalk who grounded the ball for the score. After Springfield grabbed another try, Matrazzo took control by blasting through would-be tacklers as he scored twice within a ten minute span. These tries were a function of the moments of brilliance had by the forwards.
With Saratoga now up 36-34, the rucking went back to an ineffective method as loitering became prevalent and the second pod was rarely around for the solid phase play, which has gained the Mustangs huge success this season. This break-down, along with some miscommunication on the outside, allowed Springfield to come back up permanently with two more tries.
The final score of the match was 46-36 in favor of the hosting Springfield. This match, however, was won by heart and determination. Being down so big so early would have deflated many teams, as I have seen in my almost nine years of rugby. These Mustangs did not let the deficit affect them though. They played with poise the entire way through, and made the game one of the most exciting matches in the young history of the club. Kudos.
Up next for the Mustangs is the first round playoff match-up at Rutland, VT, for a spot in the VYRA finals in Colchester, VT on Sunday.

Mustangs Girls Rumble to Victory in First Annual NYMA Cup

The Saratoga Mustangs Girls notched two more victories en route to winning the championship cup in the inaugraul NYMA Cup Tournament. The tournament was conceived in the late winter through the desire to promote competitive rugby high school rugby between New York and Massachusetts. The Springfield Rifles offered to host the four team girls event, as well as host a game between the Springfield and Saratoga boys in between rounds. With this format set and the hope of expansion in the future, two teams from Saratoga, and one from both Albany-Schenectady-Rennselaer (ASR) and Springfield squared off to determine the first champion among teams who have been in existence for less than two years.
The day began in windy Westfield, MA with another clash between ASR and Saratoga's A Team for the first game in the opening round. Despite ASR's continued development as a first year club, Saratoga's experience and aggressiveness was too much for the young squad. Despite the 20 minute half format of the opening round of tournament play, in only 40 minutes of regulation game play, Saratoga wracked up seven tries on their way to a 39-0 shutout victory. Three tries were scored by freshmen eight man sensation Melayna Weaver (Burnt Hills), two by Celia McKendrick (Burnt Hills), and one a piece by senior Amanda Barletta (Burnt Hills) and freshman Khirstian Carbonello (Burnt Hills). Carbonello and junior Sara McFadden (Burnt Hills) each added conversion kicks. Because of her hard work at converting from fullback to flanker and continued work at developing her kicking, McFadden's successful conversion kick netted her the coaches' decision for Rugger of the Match for the first game.
Saratoga took on Springfield for the first time since the first game they played in team history last spring. It was a much more hotly contested match as Sprinfield was boasting three girls who are current members of the U-19 NRU All-Star team. Behind an ever improving mastery of the offense by senior scrum-half Emily Wexler (Burnt Hills), Saratoga spread the ball around the team and received hard running scores by eightman Eva Meier (Ballston Spa), inside center Joann Pettis (Burnt Hills), and the game capper by Weaver. Saratoga broke out a new offense of scheme for the line and, orchestrated by Pettis and Wexler, managed some clever misdirection. Freshman fullback Khirstian Carbonello (Burnt Hills) added a conversion kick to run the score to 17-0, and at the end of the forty minute game, that is where it stood. Both Saratoga teams had advanced to the second round and improved their records to 7-0 and 6-1, respectively.
Given the format of the tournament, the second round would have had Springfield and Albany square off for the Consolation Match and Saratoga's A Team taking on Saratoga's Super A Team for the Championship Cup Match. This is where the day became interesting because, with VYRA playoffs looming, Saratoga's coaching staff had no desire to risk injury for what amounted to an intrasquad game. With ASR and Springfield nursing injuries, a proposal was made. Saratoga agreed to donate Celia Mckendrick, Khirstian Carbonello, Quennah Holt, and Melayna Weaver (who scored a collective seven tries, which was seven more than ASR and Springfield put together to this point). With the four Mustangs, ASR and Springfield compiled their best possible roster to take on Saratoga in the finals, despite Saratoga essentially forfeiting to itself to win the cup. For this game, Saratoga battled back and forth with the conglomerate. For a side that was comprised with players that had not played together before, the Motley Team pulled themselves together and pulled out all the stops for the first forty minutes. Despite some impressive goal lines stands by Saratoga, eventually, one of the players from Albany was able to punch through and score. With the conversion made, Saratoga trailed for the first time all day, 7-0. With only twenty minutes to play, Saratoga pulled itself together and mounted an attack. In the closing minutes, Saratoga marched down the field twice and put scores on the board. The first came from Emily Wexler. At that point of the day, Saratoga had either given away or lost all three of its kickers, so Wexler was called upon to kick, never having had done it before. A few minutes later, sophomore wing and eventual Rugger of the Match winner Samantha Coluccio (Burnt Hills) thrashed down the sideline and pounded her way into the try zone for the winning score. As time expired, Saratoga's joint Super A and A Team had defeated the collective squad to claim its third victory of the day and officially bring home the first NYMA Cup Tournament Championship.

Up Next for the Super A's: The Saratoga Super A Team (6-1) Hosts Rutland on Wednesday, May 28th @ 6:00 P.M. in the First Round of the VYRA Championship. They will follow it up with either a final consolation or final championship game vs. either Adirondack or Essex in Colchester, VT on Sunday.
Up Next for the A's: The Saratoga A Team (7-0) closes out its season when they host Albany-Schenectady-Rennselaer (ASR) on Friday, May 30th @ 5:00 P.M. and go for an undefeated season.

VYRA Playoffs up in Air after Mustang Defeat

Important playoff implications were on the line in Saturday's games as the Saratoga Mustangs hosted Essex Rugby at Shenantaha Creek Park in Malta, NY. With only a handful of games left in the VYRA season, Saratoga needed the victory to solidify a spot to host the midweek semi-final match, slated for May 28th. As the week went on, the Saratoga Mustang Boys knew of what they needed to accomplish and worked hard towards that goal.
With a regulars missing from action due to injury, the Mustang Super A's took the field just a bit before 2:00 pm. It wasn't but three minutes in did Essex take advantage of a questionable no-call on a knock-on as they went up 7-0 on the hosting Mustangs. Play went back and forth as the Mustangs forwards did their best to handle the larger pack of Essex. In the fourteenth minute, however, Essex found themselves back on the board with a second try, this time unconverted.
In an effort to take back the lead, almost each Mustang tried to put the game on his shoulder as the boys would run hard towards the side in effort to break up-field. With Essex' sure tackling, though, this did not happen very often. In fact, as the second half wore on, it was evident that the Mustangs were winded and tired, from all of the east-west trailing. Although the game was hard fought, Saratoga just couldn't seem to catch a break. They crossed the line several times with the ball, but each time it was called as being held-up. This may have discouraged weaker teams, but the Mustangs kept fighting. In the end, the final score of Essex 17 - Saratoga 0 may have hurt Saratoga's chances to host a playoff game, but it definitely showed their perseverance and unwillingness to quit. Job well done.
As previously mentioned, Saratoga was hurting from the injury bug, as well as missing several individuals due to other obligations. As such, the 42-person roster was down to a mere 25 on Saturday. With numbers as they were on both sides, Essex and Saratoga opted to play 12's with a full line and unopposed, five-man scrums.
The twelve vice fifteen aside seemed to open things up, as converted 8-man Mike Matrazzo opened up the scoring in the first half. Flanker/lock Chris Heckman made a nice jaunt to put the second score on, and speedy scrum half Tyler Krastins rounded out the scoring with a try of his own. Saratoga won the time shortened game three tries to one.
Up next for Saratoga is a tournament in Springfield, MA, on Saturday, May 24th.

Saratoga Girls A Team Whallops Essex's Second Team, 46-0

The Saratoga Mustangs Girls A Team took on Essex's second team after they watched the Super A's emotional victory and charged the field on a mission themselves. Espousing the need to play smarter more aware rugby, the ladies fought Essex for a 30 minute truncated game. When the smoke cleared, the ladies wracked up eight tries and three conversions, cruising to a 46-0 rout and improving their record to 5-0. Saratoga's A Team, which often plays shorter games because of available field space, reffing, and time, has now outscored their opponents 172-10 in five games, resulting in an average score of over 34 points per game and have not let up a point since April 18th.
Saratoga ripped off a fast start to the game and immediately dominated the line and pack of Essex and managed to overrun the defense repeatedly. At the end of the 30 minute game, Saratoga had wracked up another lopsided victory, defeating Essex's second team 46-0. Passing was so well executed that there was not a single scrum-down for the entire game. This meant not a single dropped pass for thirty minutes of play. It was the perfect tune up game for the A side girls, who will take on Springfield's top squad and the girls from Albany-Schenectady-Rennselaer this coming weekend's Springfield Invitational.
The game was an all-comers event for scoring. Saratoga's usual suspects made their presence known. As per usual for the Girls A Team, the freshmen loose forward combo of flanker Maranda Rotundo (Burnt Hills) and eight man Melayna Weaver (Burnt Hills) each chipped in a try, adding to their season totals and continuing their scoring streak in consecutive games for the A Team. Junior scrum-half Olivia Guay (Burnt Hills) and senior inside center Amanda Barletta (Burnt Hills) also struck pay dirt, scrambling for a score off of a ruck and bursting through a whole in Essex's defense, respectively. Senior German Exchange student Jenny von Rosen (Burnt Hills) also added her hard smashing running to the fray which and compiled yet another score in her rookie season. The real show of the day was the footwork of Khirstian Carbonello (Burnt Hills), who was getting her first shot at fly-half after having started all of her games at fullback. In one half, or fifteen minutes of play, Carbonello managed to wrack up three tries and four converted kicks, totalling 23 points.
The Mustangs Girls A's now travel to Springfield, before returning home for its final game of the season, at home vs. ASR on May 31st.

The Saratoga Mustangs A's Are Now 5-0.

Mustans Girls Super A's Defeat Essex in Thriller, Improve to 5-1

The Saratoga Mustangs Girls Super A's knew they had something to prove after last week's heartbreaking 7 point loss ended their undefeated streak. The girls from Essex, VT were looking for the same outcome as Saratoga: a victory that would lock up the second seed in Vermont Youth Rugby Association play and home field advantage in the playoffs. Both teams boasted offenses that could put points on the board and a stingy defense. Saratoga currently leads the league in point differential with a +84 (115 points for, 31 points against), and were looking to get back to scoring tries in bunches as they had all season. In a see-saw battle which saw four lead changes, it was the gritty and determined play of Mustangs girls that was the difference in the end. When the final whistle blew, Saratoga came away with a thrilling 17-14 victory over an Essex team who have aspirations for a national championship. The Mustangs Girls will now host either Essex or Rutland on Wednesday, May 28th at home in the first round of the VYRA Championships. The Super A's improved to 5-1 on the season, trailing only 3-0 Adirondack in league play.
The game began in predictable fashion. Saratoga, known for their tough and powerful pack, were easily seen as they bigger of the two teams and the word on Essex was that they had a fleet footed line that boasted an all-star inside center who was quick and deceptive. They distributed the ball and forced overloads, after running the opposition ragged trying to keep up, and then would out sprint them to the try line for a score. Each team tried to establish its own game plan right off of the initial kick, which saw Saratoga retain possession in most rucks and mauls and pound the ball off of the right and left of the pile with its bigger forwards, including senior captain, prop Jessica Sears (Burnt Hills), junior prop Tiffany Neach (Burnt Hills), and the lock tandem of junior Marianna Carta (Burnt Hills) and senior Shelby Snyder (Scotia-Glenville), and eight man Eva Meier (Ballston Spa). The Mustangs played ball control offense which pushed play down into Essex territory, despite some solid kicks from the Essex line that sent freshman fullback Khirstian Carbonello (Burnt Hills) flying all over the field as they tried to gain position away from the "tackling swarm" of Saratoga.
Eventually, it was Meier who was able to pound the ball in for a score, and with Carbonello's conversion, the Mustangs jumped out to a 7-0 lead. After the ensuing kickoff, Saratoga worked its way back down the field again. In slow and patient fashion, and with the kicks of sophomore center Joya Clark (Scotia-Glenville), the Mustangs soon found themselves knocking at the door again. After a line out at Essex's five meter line, the girls from Essex passed the ball into their own try zone and put it down. Normally this would set up a prime scoring opportunity with a scum to Saratoga at the five meter line, a place where Meier has feasted on the opposition from her position as eight man, but the referee errantly called it a touch back, resulting in a 22 meter drop out. With the Mustangs coaches calling in plays for the apparent scrum, a center from Essex sprinted up to the try line and drop kicked the ball a few feet before scooping it up and taking off. She was able to out maneuver fullback Carbonello, who was more shallow than usual expecting a scrum to Saratoga, and race down the sideline for a score. The converted kick left Saratoga bewildered and now tied 7-7.
The try breathed new life into Essex and the see-saw battle began. Each time tried to reestablish itself as the half began to wind down, but neither team was able to put points on the board. When Saratoga did manage to punch into Essex's try zone, Essex proved itself adept and not letting the ball touch the ground, which negates a score (unlike football, in rugby the ball must cross the line AND touch the ground under control) and allowed them to send a booming kick out of their own zone. In the final few minutes, Saratoga again pushed their way into Essex's end. Crashing the ball with its powerful forwards, senior scrum-half Emily Wexler (Burnt Hills) burst through and put the ball down. Almost immediately, an Essex girls scooped up the ball. The ref signaled that ball had been held up or stripped, so no score was awarded. This ended the half. Coach Mody protested the call, vehemently, and the ref decided to consult with the nearest touch judge, a sort of secondary official whose primary job is to mark when the ball is put out of play. Upon review, the touch judge agreed that the ball had been placed before it was scooped, and Saratoga was awarded the try. When Carbonello's kick sailed wide left, Saratoga clung to a 12-7 lead.
The second half began with the same fierce running and tackling by both teams. For Saratoga, the effects of a prom the night before began to show as, combined with the heat of the day, the pace began to slow and Essex was able to hold its own in rucks and maul, even pressuring Wexler in several key areas which through the offense out of sync. Eventually, it was an overload by Essex that took advantage of Saratoga's over aggressive line and caught them on the outside with too few players to defend. Essex streaked down the field and scored, converting the following kick to claim a 14-12 lead.
The ensuing kickoff resulted in continued back and forth play. Each team was able to capitalize on the opposition's weaknesses to gain advantageous field position, but were unable to convert any points. Saratoga regrouped off of a penalty at the mid field, and decided to pound the ball using its forwards. This strategy again worked as they found themselves deep in Essex territory and the second half wore on. Each time Saratoga would pound the ball into the try zone, however, Essex held it up, negating a score. They were able to do this three times in a row until the ball was scooped off the back of a ruck by stiff arm throwing Jess Sears who willed herself into the try zone for the score. The crowd went wild as Saratoga reclaimed the lead. When Carbonello's kick sailed wide right, Saratoga found itself holding on to a slim 17-14 lead. Essex came after Saratoga on the following kickoff with renewed vigor, pulling out all the stops and playing an extremely aggressive defense in order to put as much pressure on the Mustangs as possible to force turnovers and increase their chances to score. The strategy worked for the most part, allowing Essex to keep the ball deep in Saratog's end of the field. But at that moment, with only two minutes to play, Saratoga's defense stiffened, and player after player from Essex was turned away. Eventually, Saratoga regained possession and booted the ball out of bounds, ending regulation time and snatching a victory in a hard fought contest. Senior Captain Jessica Sears, who had scored the game winning try was awarded Rugger of the Match by the coaching staff.

The Saratoga Mustangs Girls Super A's are now 5-1.

Mental Mistakes End Girls Super A's Undefeated & Scoreless Streak Against Rival Adirondack

The Saratoga Mustans Girls Super A's had their toughest match of the season against rival Adirondack. In a battle of the only unbeaten teams in VYRA, the two teams battle to a 0-0 tie at halftime. The first half featured hard running and hits, with particularly strong defense against the opposing Adrindack scrum-half by senior scrum-half Emily Wexler (Burnt Hills). Saratoga was plagued by mental mistakes and miscues which resulted in repeated turnovers and stalled offensive drives. Mental mistakes also manifested themselves in the form of penalties, which were plentiful in the first half, again further thwarting the high scoring offense that was leading the league with a +88 point differential going into the game. Saratoga was able to slow the Adirondack attack with strong rucking and mauling, despite excellent play by Adirondacks trifecta of NRU All-stars. None was more difficult to defend than Adirondack's inside center, who mixture of speed and size made it near impossible to bring her down one one one. The result of her strong running created overloads for Adirondack which, along with repeated penalties, kept play deep in Saratoga's territory for the first time this season.
The second half began much as the first half ended. As Saratoga tired, mental mistakes continued to plague the team and the uneven distribution of penalties continued to give Adirondack superior field position. Eventually this proved to be Saratoga's downfall and Adirondack was able to notch three scores and jump out to a 15-0 lead. Indeed, it was not until the 65th minute that Adirondack was called for their first penalty, nearly 20 minutes after Coach Aaron Noble was ejected for arguing the lack of calls by the referee.
Despite the deficit, Saratoga fought back by returning to its brand of smash mouth rugby, winning rucks and pounding the ball with its forwards. Junior eight man Eva Meier (Ballston Spa) managed to pound her way in for a score, dragging several defenders with her, and freshman fullback Khirstian Carbonello's (Burnt Hills) conversion brought Saratoga within eight.
Unfortunately, despite intense play and continued intensity, the mental mistakes of earlier in the game proved to costly and the score stood, 15-7 in favor of Adirondack. Saratoga lost both its unbeaten status and its shutout streak which ended at seven halves of rugby. The loss dropped Saratoga out of the top spot in the standings, which it had held since April 5th, and made Saturday's match against Essex a must win if they hope to maintain home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Saratoga's Eva Meier (Ballston Spa) was awarded her second Rugger of the Match honors, although was given some fierce competition from Emily Wexler (Burnt Hills), whose defense in the first half was instrumental in keeping Saratoga in the game. Saratoga dropped to 4-1 on the season.

Saratoga Mustangs Girls A's Move to 4-0

The Saratoga Mustangs Girls A's hosted Albany-Schenenctady-Rensselaer (ASR) on Friday, May 9th at Shenantaha Creek Park in Ballston Spa, one week after soundly defeating ASR by a score of 60-0. Due to the huge game against Adirondack on Saturday for the Super A's, there were seveal call-ups from the A squad for depth, and the result was significant playing time increases for several members of the A squad. Most notable, was the relative short handedness of the pack, who was operating with only three subs. The result was similar, however, as Saratoga's speed did the damage with a reversal of tactics from the week before. This game was all about the line and, like the pack's dominance the week before, the line wracked up five of the team's six tries, on its way to a 36-0 victory, improving their record to 4-0.The day began with the slicing running of Jess Kniskern (Stillwater), whose cutback ability has continually frustrated would be tacklers and allowed her to rack up several tries on the season. Before the day was out, the senior fly-half would add another three to her total, including some great tackling, especially after being moved to scrum-half at halftime for Olivia Guay (Burnt Hills) who was pulled to ensure her availability for Saturday. Kniskern was not the only back to run roughshod on the day. Senior Paula Rehm (Ballston Spa), playing inside center, also added a score, as did freshman flanker Maranda Rotundo (Burnt Hills), who has become a savy ball carrier off of the back of rucks, but the real show of the day was provided by new comer, sophomore fullback Joya Clark (Scotia-Glenville). Clark had her second try of the season on a blazing run down the left side of the field, converted three kicks, and made some brutal tackles of ASR runners, repeatedly drawing "oohs" and "oh man's" from spectators and coaches alike. The fleet footed sophomore was also able to dish the ball to her team mates and provide solid punts that allowed Saratoga to maintain excellent field position and keep ASR on their heels for most of the game and out of Saratoga's half of the field.

There was a large difference between the past two weeks, however. Saratoga ran up a 29-0 score by halftime, but after that, ASR tightened up its defense and began stringing together sustained drives by winning consecutive rucks and using its line to get the ball to the sidelines. The second half was hard fought and Saratoga managed only one more try and a conversion kick, while using the roving fullback Clark to stop any sustained run by the faster members of ASR.

At the end of the game, the coaching staff awarded Rugger of the Match honors to Joya Clark. It was the first time she had been given the honor, although it came in only her second game. The coaching staff has great expectations for Clark and the rest of the A team as they notch another victory at the midway point of the season.

Mustang Boys Kings of the Mountain vs. Adirondack

The Saratoga Mustangs Boys Super A's traveled to Saranac Lake on Saturday, May 10th, as the Adirondack Barkeaters hosted league play for the second time of this VYRA season. Last year's exhibition match was won by the Mustangs in a close one and the Barkeaters' coach expected a tight one this time around as well.
Up first on the day was the girls' match which kicked off at 11:00 am. As soon as the final whistle blew in that match, the boys hit the field. With the infamous Father as the referee, Saratoga received the initial kick at 12:40 pm. It wasn't but five minutes into the game that 8-man Mike Matrazzo (junior, BHBL) put the Mustangs' up 5-0, with a motivated run through traffic. The early portion of the game was predominately played in the pack, with the Mustangs on a slight advantage. With the gritty forwards play, loose head prop, Tyler Farrar (senior, BHBL) fought in for the Mustangs second try at the 18th minute of the first half.
After Saranac Lake came to within a try at 10-5 at the 26th minute, the Mustangs went back to the forwards, which were led by hearty scrum half, Matt Bynon (sophomore, BHBL) and his smart game management. As the forwards continued to win ruck after ruck, it was Bynon who came across the try line for the Mustangs' third and final score of the half.
At half time, the Mustangs made a few line-up changes but expected the much of the same play from the opponent. This was the case in the early portions of the second half and the forwards battled each other for possession. It wasn't until the Barkeaters' back line made a play for position did the scoring re-commence. Upon a mis-handled ball by the Mustangs fullback, the speedy Barkeaters sprinted onto the loose ball, and while playing the Sir's advantage, scored an uncontested try and cut the lead to 15-10 at the 20th minute of the half.
Play continued back and forth, with punishing hits being dealt by both sides. Rookies Chris Heckman (freshman, Ballston Spa), flanker, and Tony Penella (freshman, BHBL), wing, made some key tackles in the tightly contested second half. With these stops and some great poaching by the Mustangs, Saratoga kept riding the play and fast motor of Matrazzo who kept the team up from start to finish. Keeping the ball with the pack, Saratoga made it back into the scoring column as Bynon put his second try across the line at the 30th minute.
With Saratoga ahead in the waning minutes, they might have gotten a little complacent as the Barkeaters spread the ball wide and zipped down the sideline for a try. After the conversion, the Barkeaters found themselves trailing only 20-17 at the 34th minute. The Mustangs stayed focused, though, and reorganized themselves as they prevented any more scoring before the final whistle blew. In the end, it was Saratoga 20 - Adirondack 17. The game's man of the match was Matrazzo for his dedicated and unstoppable play throughout the match.

Stampede Turns Season around with Big Win over Greys

After a much needed week off, the Saratoga Stampede Rugby Football Club took the field on Saturday, May 3rd, to iron out some wrinkles and attempt to put the side into a great position for the upcoming NERFU Championships. The unassuming opponent, on tour from Connecticut, was the wily veteran bunch representing the Connecticut Greys. The Stampede knew to expect a test from the 'Old Boys' club, as it is traditional that the veteran leadership and knowledge of the game will beat the youth and speed of the inexperienced sides.

This was truth in the fall of 2006 when Saratoga traveled to the Greys, and ended up losing a well-contested match. Seeking a bit of retribution for that loss, as well as prepping for the rest of the spring season, the Stampede knew what to watch out for this time. The Stampede started out a little slow, as is tradition with the club; however, off of a ruck in its own territory, flanker and eventual Saratoga Man of the Match, Jamie Merritt, picked the ball off of the left side and sliced his way 60 some meters for a fabulous score. The try was converted by fullback Jared Rubin and the run had just begun for the Stampede.

Feeling a little more confident, scrum half and team captain Nick Defilippo gunned the ball out to his back line. After some good ball movement, the black and white Gilbert made its way to the outside center, Vernon Peek, who lumbered ahead of and through Grey defenders for another score. Merritt and Peek repeated their respective acts, as the Stampede continued its proficiency of spreading the ball out and cutting through the grizzled veterans of the Greys. For the first in recent history, the Stampede capitalized on great ball handling down the backline as the ball even made it out to the speedy wing, Bryan Sawyer, who danced his way to paydirt in the first half.

The Greys showed perserverence, though, as they fought their way up the field late in the first half. With the ball inside the Stampede five meter line, the Grey pounded the ball across the line with eventual Grey Man of the Match, Eddie 'Buzz Lightyear' Carr, grounding the ball for five points.

That score was it for the Greys, though, as Saratoga's stifling defense snuffed out any chance for a comeback. The second half yielded two more Stampede tries (inside center Paul Campbell and flyhalf Doug McCluskey). With Rubin converting all kicks on the day, the final score was Saratoga 49 - Connecticut 5. The Stampede moved to 1-1 on the season; up next for them is the NERFU Championships, held in North Conway, NH, on the weekend of 5/17 - 5/18.

Saratoga Girls Continue to Dominate Lower Half of the VYRA Division

On Saturday, May 3rd, the Saratoga Mustangs Girls hosted Colchester High School. Despite their record, the word on Colchester was that they were a high octane offensive team and had plenty of talent. Recent trends continued though, and after 70 minutes of regulation play, Saratoga extended their undefeated season with a 41-0 trouncing of Colchester, dropping the Vermont team to 0-4 on the season.

Saratoga also maintained its shutout streak with its third consecutive shut out, which, including a forfeit win over CVU, now stands at over 2.5 hours of game play without surrendering a single point on the season.

Saratoga started the day's scoring early, with a balanced attack featuring some relative new comers to the Super A side. Due to May 3rd being a national testing day for the SAT's, both Saratoga and Colchester were missing most of their juniors. The open spaces left by Saratoga's juniors led to starts by rookies Shannon Dowdle (BH-BL), Sarah Cranfield (BH-BL), Shelby Snyder (Scotia-Glenville), Melayna Weaver (BH-BL), and Leah Gerlach (BH-BL). Injuries and unavailability also led to the return of senior Jess Kniskern (Stillwater) and junior Jen Rohling (BH-BL).

Saratoga used a fast paced balanced attack to attempt to overwhelm Colchester’s defense. The strategy involved a swarming pack that rucked fast and hard, keeping the ball available so that both the pack and the line could cut through Colchester before they could setup their defense. With Rohling leading the way through her decisions of who and where to distribute the ball, about four minutes into the game the ball made it into sophomore wing Samantha Coluccio’s (BH-BL) hands and she fought her way into the try zone, dragging a defender with her, for a score. Freshman Khirstian Carbonello (BH-BL) converted the team’s first kick for the season and Saratoga jumped out to 7-0 lead.

The next fourteen minutes were marked with some hard hits and strong runs by sophomore center Carly Baker (Averil Park) and some great poaching of the ball by Colchester’s eventual Rugger of the Match winner, Megan Gregory. Saratoga eventually retained possession long enough to put together a sustained drive, as they had been threatening to do spending most of the time in Colchester's end of the field, when Kniskern sliced through Colchester's defense for the second score of the day. Carbonello's second consecutive conversion increased Saratoga's lead to 14-0.

After seeing the line dominate the scoring, the pack decided that it was time for it to wrack up some scores on its own. Melaya Weaver (BH-BL), who is becoming a serious scoring threat from the eight man position, rumbled through Colchester for a score, following it up five minutes later with her second for the last score of the half push Saratoga to a 24-0 lead.

The second half began much of the same way the first half did. After receiving the kickoff, Saratoga started working its way down through Colchester's territory. The fast pace of Saratoga's offense and lack of a full bench of subs caused evident fatigue and the pace of the second half slowed significantly. Colchester was able to string together several rucks in a row and began utilizing the maul to maintain possession and gain territory on the field. Eighteen minutes into the second half, however, it was fast running and hard hitting sophomore rookie wing Leah Gerlach (BH-BL) that notched her own score. After ten minutes of back and forth play, in which Colchester was growing is time of possession, Gerlach added her second score of the day with a hard run up the left side of the pitch.

The last seven minutes had increasingly slow play from both sides and was marked by several injuries. Marianna Carta (BH-BL) and Tiffany Neach (BH-BL) came out with injuries to hand and ankle, respectively, and were replaced by Jenny von Rosen (BH-BL) and Haley Brown (BH-BL), and a substitution for Katie Dannenberg (BH-BL) with Brianne Briggs (BH-BL), attempting to reinvigorate a slowing Saratoga pack who had been hustling all day, but was starting to run out of steam. The plan worked, with eventual Rugger of the Match winner Quennah Holt (Bethlehem) bursting through the middle of the field, breaking two tackles and outrunning several defenders to put an explanation point on the victory with the final score of the day, and with Carbonello's final conversion, Saratoga claimed a 41-0 victory. It is the second time that Holt has received the distinction.

Saratoga's Super A's improved to 4-0 in preparation for next weekend's game against the strongest team in VYRA, Adirondack, who Saratoga will travel to play on May 10th before returning home to host Essex on May 17th.

Saratoga Mustangs Boys Seek Retribution against Southern CDYR Opponents

On a day that is a little more typical to Northeast rugby than what has been seen thus far, the Saratoga Mustangs traveled to the Albany Bulldogs for a cold, wet, rainy set of games. The out loud focus points were fundamentals and proving that contrary to recent local newspaper articles, the Saratoga Mustangs Boys are a team to be taken seriously. In the backs of the boys' minds, though, was the need to play for young David Mucha, who became seriously ill earlier in the week. With David still recovering, the boys knew that they HAD to win the games for him.

Kickoff for the Super A's occurred just a few minutes after 5:00 pm, and two minutes later, Saratoga set the tone. With some great pod play and rucking, the ball was spread to the back's captain and inside center, Bryan Little. Using his quick feet and disgusting cutting ability, B. Little ran through defenders to put the Mustangs up 5-0. A few minutes later, B. Little made a similar display of cuts, but this time made a key pass to outside center Dan Godshalk who got the Mustangs up 10-0. Great team play and back line dominance put the the Mustangs up 29-0 about 20 minutes into the first half, with two more scores by B. Little and one by gritty scrum half, Matt Bynon. It shall be noted that B. Little's last try was at least 50 meters as he sliced the Bulldog defense, saying no to anyone that attempted to arm tackle him. This running apparently confused Saratoga for the second part of the first half as they reverted to track meet style play with the wings, Ryan Bobbitt and Greg Manning, sprinting long distances up their respective sidelines. Unfortunately, their speedy moves got them out of support of their trailing teammates.

Seeing this, the team modified its play and started playing some forwards-dominated rugby. Mustang 8-man, Mike Matrazzo, and flanker, Jesse Hummer, began leading pods with fury; with their deceiving moves, they put the Mustangs up 39-0 at the half. With wholesale substitutions at the half, Saratoga maintained its composure. Things were no where near as flowing as the first half, though, as Albany was counseled and calmed down at the half. They came back out with heart and determination and it was known that they were playing for pride.

With the Bulldog's play more determined, the forward play of the Mustangs became much more critical. M. Matrazzo used the rucking ability of his teammates to find the ball and the try zone three more times in the second half. However, it was the team defense in this frame that was even more impressive. Albany line-outs were stolen 75% of the time as J. Hummer and his mile-long arms disrupted many of the throws in from the Bulldog hook. The Bulldogs broke the ball to the outside on a few occasions, beating Saratoga to the sideline; however, it was the pursuit of the Mustang defenders that squashed the scoring attempts. Arguably the biggest play in the Mustangs young season was the preservation of their shutout. Albany used some key play by their back line to find their way into the try zone late in the game. The Saratoga backs were chasing on defense; as the ball crossed the line and was about to be put down, D. Godshalk came threw and knocked the ball out of the Bulldog's hands, deleting any chance for a score. Final score: Saratoga Mustangs Super A's 56 - Albany Bulldogs 0. Man of the Match: 8-man Mike Matrazzo, with a very close second of inside center Bryan Little.

After much debate and concern for lighting, the Saratoga Mustangs Boys A-side took the field with Albany, after a dominating game by the Mustang women. This last game of the day was shortened significantly as the light was fading fast. However, upon kickoff, the Mustangs showed no mercy and they continued hard, fundamental play seen from the Super A's earlier in the evening. Saratoga took advantage of spreading the field, and once more utilized its speedy, shifty wings. With quick ball down the line, right side wing Dan Miller put the Mustangs up 5-0 with a try far on the right. A few minutes later, D. Miller took some great passing and did the same thing, using some quick cuts to free himself for a sprint to the score.

Shortly after, with a scrumdown to Albany near mid-field, time was briefly called to rotate in substitutions and for both teams to strategize. On the next whistle play resumed. The forwards were evenly matched throughout as both teams played with all the heart that they could muster. With the ball changing possession several times at mid field, Albany was able to spread the ball to their right wing and he sprinted down the sideline for a score. After the conversion was attempted, the sir called the game due to lighting issues. Even though the playing was relatively short, Saratoga showed its organization and captains Ross Batty and Ben Murphy kept their team composed, amidst some questionable play by the opposition. Final score: Saratoga Mustangs A's 10 - Albany Bulldogs 5. Man of the match: Wing - Dan Miller.

Job well done by all.

Saratoga Mustangs Girls A Team Whallop New Albany Girls, 60-0.

In a game marked by wet and cold weather, the Saratoga Mustangs Girls A team wracked up an astonishing 12 tries in 60 minutes against a very young Albany-Schenectady-Rensselaer (ASR) Girls team behind the strong running of their pack en route to a 60-0 victory.

Saratoga's experience was evident, even with the number of relatively inexperienced players that they had on the pitch Friday night. Running somewhat light on numbers because of call-ups to the Super A team by a number of regular A players due to many juniors taking SAT's on Saturday and a recent outbreak of mono, it was the first time many of the girls had significant playing time for Saratoga.

That didn't seem to matter, however, as the pack dominated scrums, mauls, lineouts, and rucks against an ASR team playing only their second game. There were several breakout performances, but none more enjoyable to watch than rookie second row Samantha Gross (BH-BL). Awarded Rugger of the Match honors by the coaching staff after the game, Sam scored the first points of her career on a pounding try up the left side of the field which would end up being the first of three on the day. She accompanied her scores with fast, hard hitting runs up the middle of the field, and at one point rumbled 40 meters before being tackled by ASR's fullback. She was also a monster as a second row in the scrum, which repeatedly pushed ASR's scrum back off of the put in. Amazingly enough, Sam also levied some brutal hits, smacking ASR runners repeatedly and helping keep the ball out of Saratoga's half of the field for almost the entire game.

Sam wasn't the only one getting in on the action, however. Regular Super A's Eight Man, Eva Meier (Ballston Spa), who was playing Friday due to the SAT's, scored an astonishing four tries of her own, none of which were easily scored. The bruising junior plowed her way into the try zone each time dragging a defender with her.

While Meier and Gross combined for 7 of the Mustangs 12 tries on the day, they were also accompanied by what can only be described as pack that was running with a vengeance. Fellow Super A Regular and SAT taking Junior, flanker Jordan Scacchetti (BH-BL) chipped in a try of her own, as did her counterpart, freshman flanker Maranda Rotundo (BH-BL) which was her second of the season. Sophomore prop Colleen Peek (BH-BL) also scored her first career points with a punishing run for a try through the heart of ASR's defense, literally dragging three girls with her. Surprisingly, however, was that three of the girls who didn't score Friday night were some of Saratoga's most bruising runners. Scrum Captain and prop Nadia Alvarez (BH-BL) and German Exchange student Jenny von Rosen (BH-BL), were a force to be reckoned with, often just running over the opposition. Both led in pod play and were never brought down by a single defender. Brianne Briggs (BH-BL) play from hook was superb and the petite but rugged sophomore repeatedly frustrated ASR defenders with her quick and smacking running. Strong play was also chipped in by prop Colleen Kelliher (BH-BL), new comer Ivonne Ortega (Ballston Spa), and hook Brianna Adams (BH-BL) .

Pack players weren't the only ones getting in on the scoring action. Line Captain and scrum-half Olivia Guay (BH-BL) was effective with her new role, distributing the ball very well and claiming a try of her own by diving on a loose ball in the try zone. Another nice surprise was the running and play of brand new comer Joya Clark (Scotia) who managed to catch a pass in the middle of traffic and cruise right through the middle of ARS' defense for the final score of the game. The line featured new fly-half and hard running senior Paula Rehm (Ballston Spa), center play by Jessica Vunk (BH-BL), Amanda Barletta (BH-BL), Ashley Balls-Suarez (BH-BL), Kristine Hayes (BH-BL), the wing work of Heidi Pastor (Shenendahowa), Julia Sell (BH-BL), Kristie Lynch (BH-BL), and fullback Sara McFadden (BH-BL).

One thing that can be said for Albany-Schenectady-Rensselaer is that they NEVER stopped coming. The played HARD the whole game and even managed a drive deep into Saratoga's end of the field in the waning minutes of the second half, coming up just short of scoring. This resolve was very impressive and as this young club gains experience, the Capital District can expect some excellent battles with Saratoga and other clubs we all expect to develop as we look to 2009.

The lone mar on the day was Saratoga's continued issue with its place kicking, going 0-12 on conversions and 0-26 on the season.

The Saratoga Mustangs Girls A Team improved to 3-0 with the victory.