Northeastern University Men's Rugby

Easter Bunny Visits Maddogs in D.C.

Wednesday April 11, 2007
By: Lilliam Wong

The Maddogs spent the Easter weekend in Washington, D.C. this year, competing in the 41st Annual Cherry Blossom Tournament. This year’s tournament was played at the Rosecroft Raceway in Fort Washington, MD. Northeastern had a tough draw as two of their first three games were scheduled for 8:35 AM Saturday and 7:45AM Sunday.

After arriving in Maryland at 2:00AM, Northeastern awoke to an inch of fresh snow for their first match against fellow NERFU opponent Norwich. The Maddogs were looking to avenge their 28-24 loss to the Cadets in the fall, which knocked Northeastern out of the playoffs. Play was very messy early on as snow stuck to the ball and caused numerous knocks and dropped passes by both teams. Late in the first half Norwich was able to get on the board with a try to make the halftime score 5-0.

With no coach or senior players along for the trip, the Maddogs had to rely on numerous underclassmen for halftime adjustments. Northeastern used those adjustments early in the second frame as they came out with a more conservative game plan; utilizing numerous picks out of rucks by their forwards and short passes among the backs to gain momentum and field position. Each advance into Norwich territory, however, was met with a penalty or miscue by the Maddogs for much of the second half. It wasn’t until there was under 5 minutes to play that Northeastern was able to mount a successful offensive attack into Norwich’s defensive territory.

A series of penalties by the Cadets allowed Northeastern to quickly advance down the field. With just under a minute to play in regulation a penalty was called on Norwich from 5 meters out. The Cadets tried to slow play the ball and the referee rewarded the Maddogs with a penalty try as time expired. In an odd turn of events, a Norwich player ran out from the try line and picked up the ball before the conversion kick was attempted. The referee declared that the kicker had established his kicking position for the conversion and begun his advance toward the ball. As a result the game ended in a tie.
Final Score: Norwich 5 Northeastern 5

In their second match of the day, Northeastern took on Division II power Salisbury. Early on the Maddogs had the upper hand as they scored two quick first half tries by right winger Ross Shepard and forward Nick Barsotti making the half-time score 10-0. The second half was a whole different story, however, as Northeastern came out of the intermission flat and complacent with the ball. Salisbury utilized the strong kicking skills of their fly-half to kick to touch on the majority of their possessions. Their strategy paid off as the Maddogs attack turned the ball over in their half of the field. Salisbury scored two quick tries in the corner to take the lead 12-10 with under 10 minutes to play. Northeastern was unable to get a go ahead score and Salisbury added an insurance try late to seal the game.
Final Score: Salisbury 17 Northeastern 10

On day two of the tournament the Maddogs received an early morning Easter present as they received word that Air Force had pulled out of the tournament and their 7:45AM match was cancelled. Air Force’s absence also gave Northeastern a spot in the Bowl playoff bracket.

In their first playoff game the Maddogs were to play William & Mary at 10:15AM. William & Mary were overmatched from the start as they failed to even show up to the game. Their forfeiture allowed Northeastern to advance into the second round of the Bowl playoff bracket.

In their second round match the Maddogs faced Slippery Rock University. The Shamrocks came out of the gates quickly as their passes and off-loads broke down the Northeastern defense. Slippery Rock was able to score two quick tries and conversions to make the score 14-0 less than 8 minutes into the match.

In their first elimination game of the tournament the Maddogs rebounded well from the Shamrock’s quick opening jabs. Taking advantage of an overload on the left side of the field, winger John “The Blank” LeBlanc was able to swoop in for a try under the posts. The conversion by George Burt was good making the score 14-7. Just before the half the Maddogs were again able to put points on the board as freshman second row Connor Joyce exploited a hole in the Slippery Rock defense for a 15 meter scamper into goal. Burt once again converted the kick and the teams went into half-time tied up 14-14.

The Maddogs second half line-up saw numerous changes as the team looked to get time for all the underclassmen that had made the Easter weekend trip. In all, Northeastern had 9 first year players on the field for the start of the second frame. Slippery Rock took advantage of the group’s inexperience early, scoring twice to bring the score to 24-14 with less than 9 minutes left in the game. Northeastern upped their communication and aggressiveness over the final 9 minutes and were able to add a score by Nick Barsotti in the left corner with 4 minutes left in regulation. The conversion fell wide left making the score 24-19. Seeing the increased aggressiveness from the Maddogs, Slippery Rock wisely chose to run out the clock by kicking to touch on every offensive possession. Northeastern was unable to mount a final offensive attack and the Shamrocks advanced to the Bowl semi-finals.
Final Score: Slippery Rock 24 Northeastern 19

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Date	Home	Away
3/24	USCGA	Northeastern
3/25	Northeastern	Spring Shorties 1
3/30	Spring Shorties 2	Northeastern
3/31	BC	Northeastern
4/7	Cherry Blossom	Northeastern
4/14	Spring Shorties 3	Northeastern
4/20	Spring Shorties 4	Northeastern