Saratoga Stampede Drops Game to Springfield in Muddy Mess

The Saratoga Stampede travelled to Springfield, Massachussetts this past weekend looking to build upon their early season success. The Rifles proved to be too much for the Saratoga Club. The former Division II team utilized their experience and size to overpower the smaller, but more agile Stampede. The Stampede was also hindered by having a smaller traveling side, boasting only 16 players to Springfield's 30. This allowed substitutions by the Rifles that Saratoga could not match and was a significant factor as the game wore on, especially as injured players had to stay in the match due to having only one substitution.

The deluge that preceded the game turned the Springfield pitch into a muddy mess, which took away Saratoga's heavy speed advantage and prevented the Stampede forwards from gaining footing against their larger opponents. The first half was marked by back and forth play as both teams probed for weaknesses. Springfield struck first with a quick burst down the sideline to take a 5 nothing lead. The Rifles added two more tries and a conversion for a 17-0 halftime lead. The second half saw Saratoga on their heels early on. Despite several goal line stands, Springfield added two more scores. The Stampede never gave up and managed to avoid a shutout when outside center Ryan Romano broke through the Springfield line for a score. The score netted Romano Man of the Match honors.

Fly Half Doug McCluskey added the conversion, making the final score Springfield 27, Saratoga 7. The Stampede will look to regroup this coming Saturday when they host archrival Berkshire at 1:00 PM at Shenantaha Creek Park in Malta. If their past encounters are any indicator, be on hand for an intense, brutally hard hitting and tight scoring game. Saratoga vs. Berkshire is always a good show of hold-nothing-back rugby played by two teams with a history of distaste for one another.

Recap provided by Aaron Noble and Rick Babson. Image courtesy of Katie Hunter.

Saratoga Stallions Win Inaugural Match vs. Albany Law, 17-15

The Saratoga Stallions Women's Rugby team emerged victoriously from their inaugural match against the women of Albany Law, with a final score of 17-15. The Stallions, composed primarily of rugby "rookies," came together and played as a unit - with a solid and powerful forward line who won the difficult scrums and got the ball to a fast, furious, and precise back line to run the ball in for the tries. Captain and coach, Meghan Marinello (scrum half), provided excellent guidance and direction to the new team.

Jenny Petronis, new to the sport of rugby, scored all 17 of the Stallions points by showing the women of Albany Law what lightening speed truly looks like. Her quickness got the Stallions off to an early lead, just minutes into the first half. The Stallions played the first half as though they were on fire. Forwards Carolyn Rooney, Hannah Mode, Mary Beth Bolduc, Amanda Romand, Diane Greg, Wendy Rodriguez, Lindsey Burns, and Jessie Cheng fought hard for the ball, and completed many impressive tackles. Their excitement and energy paid off, and the Stallions ended the first half with a score of 10-5. The back line, Sarah Black, Kaorina Kuok, Stormie Romero, Alessandra Bender, Jenny Petronis, and Jasmine Patterson, used their speed and accurate passing to score one final try in the second half to bring the final score to 17-15.

The Stallions next match will be on Saturday, October 4th at 11am. They will host the women of Vermont Law at the Shenentaha Creek Park on East Line Road in Ballston Spa. Directions to the pitch can be found on the team's website: http://www.saratogawomensrugby.com/

Saratoga Women's Rugby is always welcoming new players of any skill and fitness level. No experience is necessary to join. If you are interested in playing, please contact the team through the website.

Recap courtesy of Sarah Black. Image courtesy of Bill Stelmack

Saratoga Stampede Overwhelm Bennington 92-7, Move to 2-0.

Submitted by Rick Babson

The Saratoga Stampede Men's Rugby Club traveled to Bennington, Vermont for their first match on the road this fall. In a windfall of a match, Saratoga set club records for both Points Scored in a Single Match and Points Scored in a Single Season in only the club's second match of the season, ensuring that the old record of 121 points will be crushed by the season's end. The Stampede, now featuring a healthy mix of experience and youth, were able to out hustle a much more inexperienced Bennington squad. Despite missing several starters due to wedding commitments, the Stampede were able to cruise to a team record of 16 tries scored and a blistering 92-7 victory.

Bennington had a bigger pack than Saratoga but did not have nearly the experience as they were recently established in the spring of 2008. Saratoga was able to win the ball out of scrums and they also controlled line-outs, and thus had possession all day in a lopsided match. Since possession is the name of the game in rugby the Saratoga team dominated play on Saturday.

Saratoga scored first with a powerful run by Jamie Merrit; it was the first of many scores by the bruising inside center who, on a number of runs, would break five or six tackles before scoring. His efforts along with the speed and shifty moves of Man of the Match winner Ryan Romano at outside center, along with Saratoga emergency alum Jerry Jerome and -newcomer Kevin Dooling at wings, were too much for Bennington backs to handle.

The backs were not the only players from Saratoga to put points on the board, with constant support from all the forwards. Joe Barth at prop, hooker Bill McLain, and second row Sean Bayliss were rewarded with a try. Captain Doug McClusky at fly-half and Nick DeFlippo at scrum-half also proved to be too much for the Bennington team with shifty runs by Doug and a highlight play by Nick, who kicked the ball from his own five meter line and chased it down past the opposing fullback, scooped the ball up. He was tackled just outside Bennington try line, but rucked over the ball on his own and was able to scoop it up again and score.

At the end of the match the score was 92- 7 Saratoga with Bennington never giving up. They scored in the last two minutes of the match.

Saratoga will be playing Springfield away this weekend which will be the toughest match of the season. Springfield played Division 3 last season and Division 2 the year before. They are looking to get back into Division 3 and have to go undefeated to get there. Saratoga, who has aspirations of making the move up themselves, are now firmly standing right in Springfield's way.

Scorers for Saratoga included:
Jamie Merrit: 4 tries
Ryan Romano: 3 tries
Jerry Jerome: 2 tries
Joe Barth: 1 try
Bill McLain: 1 try
Doug McClusky: 2 tries
Nick DeFilippo: 1 try
Sean Bayliss: 1 try
Kevin Dooling: 1 try

Stampede Trample Mad River, Take Season Opener 47-3.

On Saturday, September 13th, Saratoga began its bid for a New England Rugby Football Union (NERFU) Championship, following up a successful 2007 season and a berth in playoffs last fall. The Stampede's season kicked off with a match against Mad River, who played in the Division Finals in 2007. Mad River has long had a reputation for being a bruising team that uses it's large pack to bully its way down the field and set up scores by quick and lighter weight backs. While outscoring Saratoga 24-5 last fall, a newly look Saratoga offense, orchestrated by new coach Brian "Sharkie" White, distributed the ball all over the pitch, resulting in a lopsided victory by the Stampede over Mad River, 47-3.

The game started off with Saratoga receiving the kickoff deep within its own end. An early knock forward followed by a penalty set up Mad River in excellent field position and they elected to go for a field goal. On the ensuing kick, the ball sailed through the uprights for three points. It would be the last three Mad River managed on the day, which was hot and extremely humid, forcing the bigger players from both teams to really push themselves to make it to rucks and mauls in order to maintain possession.

In an effort to gain field position, the game quickly turned to the feet of the backs, who often exchanged a volley of kicks, hoping to catch the opposition off guard and regain possession through quick pursuit. Saratoga, though often overpowered in the scrum, was able to dominate lineouts and rucks, using their combination of speed and size to take advantage of favorable match ups with Mad River. Saratoga's backs proved too fast and too big for Mad River, especially Ballston Spa grad and inside center Jamie Meritt, whose slashing and cut back runs repeatedly frustrated opposing players. Meritt notched himself a try and Man of the Match honors for the first week. It is a designation Saratoga expects Merrit to continue to battle for on a weekly basis as he continues to gain a better grip on Saratoga's team centered offense.

Beyond Merrit, Coach White's offense, run by scrum-half Nick DeFilippo and fly-half Captain Doug McCluskey, had Saratoga showcase as even attack as they ever have had. Saratoga scored seven tries by seven different players on the day, and converted six of seven point after kicks. They featured slashing runs by the backs and smashmouth drives by the forwards in a scheme that emphasizes positional awareness and control. Without the extra running involved in a strictly "Pod Styled" offense, the forwards stayed fresher and were to be found all over the field, often stretching out Mad River's defense and forcing their larger pack to play a lot of chase on a hot day. This strategy seemed to wear down Mad River and allow Saratoga to really pour on the tries.

Those scoring tries on the day included Meritt and Kevin Dooling, who had a bursting run through the middle of Mad River's line, as well as mad dashes by McClusky and center Jared Rubin, who also chipped in three conversion kicks to lead all scorers with 11 points. The pack took a more simple approach, smashing off of rucks deep in Mad River's red zone, resulting in tries by prop Joe Barth and flanker Pete Mody. Eightman Steve "Aussie" Ristau mixed it up, however, by taking a dump pass from Meritt and crashing in for a try of his own. After a knee injury to Rubin, fullback Vern Peek converted 2 of 3 point after kicks, bringing the total of players contributing to points during the game to eight. Saratoga had scored 47 unanswered points en route to winning their season opener.

(Photo Courtesy of Katie Hunter).

Sophomore Shannon Dowdle Named to Vermont All-Star Team

Shannon Dowdle, a rookie flanker for Saratoga's girls U-19 team has been named to the Vermont State Select Side. She is the first player to have this distinction from Saratoga and joins fellow forwards Maddie Cocca (New England Selects) and Celia McKendrick (Michigan U-23 Selects) as Mustangs who have been selected for outstanding skill, stamina, and game play.

Shannon will tour with Vermont this summer and play several games against all-star squads from both the US and Canada. Congrats Shan!

Stampede Fall Short at Dead Ants

The Saratoga Stampede Mens Club traveled light to the Dead Ants tournament this past weekend bringing only 12 of their own players. At the tournament the stampede were able to recruit a hooker, a second row, 2 flankers and an outside center to fill out their side. Saratogasfirst match was at 11 am against the Buffalo A-Side. Because of lack of warm up time saratoga came out cold and quickly found themselves down 7-0. The first half of play was not one of saratogas best as the found themselves down 27-0 as the halftime whistle blew. Saratoga came out ready to play in the second half but could only muster up one try and a missed conversion, but their defense was much better as they only gave up 7 points in the second half to buffalo. Final score- Buffalo 34- Saratoga 5. Saratogas only score was punched in by the recruited outside center.

Saratogas second game started at 1 pm, and was against the Colonials. Now warmed up after their first game, saratoga came out fast in the 2nd half with a sprint the the try zone by outside center Ryan Ramano for the first try of the match (conversion good). Saratoga took an early Lead 7-0. The Colonials did not hesitate to answer right back punching in a try of their own but failing ti make the conversion leaving the score at saratoga 7- Colonials 5 at the half. The 2nd have much like the first half started off fast for the stampede with a few downfield kicks. One of which was scooped up by wing Nick DeFilippo and touched down just over the line for saratogas second try of the match (conversion failed). Saratoga now found themselves up 12-5.Nearing the end of the match and needing a try and a conversion to tie the game, the colonials found themselves with the ball inside Saratogas 22. The colonials wanted to get the ball out to the wing but that didn't happen when fullback Bryan Sawyer swooped in and intercepted the ball between the inside and outside canters and was off 80+ meters for the score (coversion failed) and that was the last play of the game. Final score saratoga 17- The Colonials 5.

After a short break between games, Saratoga went into their third match of the day. Saratoga needed to win this match in order to qualify for the consolation match. Saratoga was matched against the hosts of the tournament, the Genesee Creamers. The Creamers came out ready to play, and to show everyone why this is their tournament with an early score (conversion good), saratoga was down 7-0 early, but they wouldn't let the Creamers off that easy, as the came back with a try of their own by outside center Ryan Ramono his second of the day ( conversion good). After about 17 minutes of play Saratoga found themselves down 22-7, with a penalty inside the Creamers 22, Scrumhalf Mike(Phish) taped the ball and quickly got it out to Flyhalf Doug Mcklusky, who faked the pass to the inside center and took it in for the try himself ( conversion failed). The halftime score was Genesee 22- Saratoga 12. In the Second half Saratoga wasn't able to pull together enough offense to get back in the game with only one more try scored by scrumhalf Mike(phish), and the Creamers adding 2 more tries and one conversion kick to make the final score Genesee 35- Saratoga 17. Saratoga would finish 1-2 on the day and not qualify for the consolation match.

Saratoga Mustangs Girls Come Up One Try Short, Lose to Adirondack in State Championship

In a battle that was described as the best match of the day by onlookers and other coaches alike, the Saratoga Mustangs Girls Super A's took on the Adirondack Barkeaters in the Vermont State U-19 Rugby Championship. In a rematch against the only team that beat Saratoga this spring, it was looking to be an excellent game of rugby against two clubs that always play hard hitting and aggressive rugby and whose games have been decided by one score on every occasion during season play.

Saratoga found itself with the early lead, the first time that it has had the position against the more established Adirondack club, after eventual Rugger of the Match (and according to NERFU select side coach, Kevin O'Brien, Rugger of the Tournament), Joya Clark (Scotia-Glenville) scooped up a kick and blazed down the sideline for a score. She also nailed the conversion to give Saratoga an early 7-0 lead. Adirondack was able to use its sizable line to pound the ball back at Saratoga, and relied on its size advantage to work its way deep in Saratoga territory and answer with a try of its own. By fifteen minutes into the game, the score was knotted at 7-7. That is where it would remain for the next 45 minutes of back and forth running, tackling, and kicking, with neither team able to convert on opportunities.

Eventually, Adirondack began taking control of lineouts and mounted a serious offensive threat within Saratoga's 22 meter line. For 15 minutes, Saratoga's defense turned Adirondack away and turned them away, with solid tackles by Leah Gerlach (Burnt Hills) Carly Baker (Averill Park), and Sam Coluccio (Burnt Hills). They were able to relatively silence the usual dominance of Adirondack's centers by getting after them quickly. The true spectacle of the day was Clark, however. The sophomore fullback's sweeping defense crushed would be scorers time and time again, as she ran relentlessly wherever the ball was, plugging holes with ferocious hitting and saving three tries at the line by stopping girls cold. Eventually, however, unable to win lineouts after clearance kicks, Adiriondack was able to get a clear overload and get the ball over the line with under ten minutes to play. After a successful conversion, Adirondack lead 14-7.

Saratoga was not done, however. After regaining possession deep in Adirondack territory, Saratoga was able to move the ball down the middle of the field. Despite Adirondack's spitited defense, Saratoga inched closer to the goal line and the tying score with each run. As time was closing, the Mustangs knew that they had to keep the ball in play so the clock would continue (in rugby, once time expires, the game continues until a stoppage in play such as the ball going out of bounds). It was at this point that Saratoga committed an error that cost them the game. After trying to set up a crash run that would open its line for an overload, Saratoga was called for a penalty for diving over the ruck. This handed the ball to Adirondack, who promptly booted the ball out of bounds as time expired. Saratoga found itself just short of the tying score, dropping the game 14-7.

Saratoga was honored after the match at the awards ceremony, bringing home its second piece of hardware in consecutive weekends as it claimed the Runners-Up Cup for the Vermont State Championship, finishing second. Saratoga closed out is season with a 6-1 regular season, 7-2 overall with a +131 point differential, outscoring opponents 176-45.