Match Summary
Match Date: 09/11/2013 
Match Start Time: 13:02:04 
Home Team: Charles River 
Away Team: Albany Knicks Men 
End Score: 8 - 45 
Weather: Cloudy 
Pitch Condition: Firm 

Match Events
00:13 Try to Murph Lill for Albany Knicks Men
00:43 Tom Breslin adds 2 more points with a successful conversion for Albany Knicks Men 
01:05 Albany Knicks Men's Tom Breslin has just scored a great try 
08:54 Charles River get the penalty kick
13:25 Tom Breslin adds 2 more points with a successful conversion for Albany Knicks Men 
23:05 Albany Knicks Men's Tom Breslin has just scored a great try 
24:41 Albany Knicks Men's Tom Breslin misses the conversion 
28:58 Charles River score a try 
39:30 Try to Tom Breslin for Albany Knicks Men
40:10 Tom Breslin adds 2 more points with a successful conversion for Albany Knicks Men 
45:30 Try to Tom Breslin for Albany Knicks Men
46:12 Tom Breslin adds 2 more points with a successful conversion for Albany Knicks Men 
56:34 Albany Knicks Men's Jesse Boehme has just scored a great try 
57:50 Tom Breslin adds 2 more points with a successful conversion for Albany Knicks Men 
64:50 Albany Knicks Men's Tom Breslin has just scored a great try 
65:27 Albany Knicks Men's Tom Breslin misses the conversion 

Match Date: 02/11/2013 
Match Start Time: 13:28:06 
Home Team: Albany Knicks Men 
Away Team: North Shore 
End Score: 65 - 19 
Weather: Overcast 
Pitch Condition: Firm 

Match Events
05:35 Albany Knicks Men's Scottie Bergen has just scored a great try 
05:59 Tom Breslin adds 2 more points with a successful conversion for Albany Knicks Men 
13:18 Try to Max Schuler for Albany Knicks Men
13:42 Tom Breslin adds 2 more points with a successful conversion for Albany Knicks Men 
21:11 Albany Knicks Men's Sean Mertz has just scored a great try 
21:51 Albany Knicks Men's Tom Breslin misses the conversion 
25:00 Try to David O'Neill for Albany Knicks Men
25:51 Albany Knicks Men fail to get the conversion
28:17 Albany Knicks Men's Steve Fleischmann has just scored a great try 
28:52 Albany Knicks Men fail to get the conversion
31:27 Albany Knicks Men's Max Schuler has just scored a great try 
32:03 Albany Knicks Men's Tom Breslin misses the conversion 
34:42 Albany Knicks Men's Steve Arango has just scored a great try 
35:06 Tom Breslin adds 2 more points with a successful conversion for Albany Knicks Men 
38:15 Try to David O'Neill for Albany Knicks Men
38:30 Tom Breslin adds 2 more points with a successful conversion for Albany Knicks Men 
39:47 Albany Knicks Men's Sean Mertz has just scored a great try 
40:27 Albany Knicks Men's Tom Breslin misses the conversion 
41:20 North Shore score a try 
42:38 North Shore fail to get the conversion
52:31 Try to Murph Lill for Albany Knicks Men
53:20 Scottie Bergen adds 2 more points with a successful conversion for Albany Knicks Men 
59:03 North Shore score a try 
59:36 North Shore add another 2 points for the conversion 
77:01 North Shore score a try 
77:39 North Shore add another 2 points for the conversion 
80:16 Try to Sean Mertz for Albany Knicks Men
80:55 Albany Knicks Men's Scottie Bergen misses the conversion 

Man of the match for A-Side Steve Arango, B-Side Tom Sage
B-Side score 45-5
Following is the match summary:

Match Date: 26/10/2013 
Match Start Time: 13:02:36 
Home Team: Old Gold 
Away Team: Albany Knicks Men 
End Score: 22 - 26 
Weather: Windy 
Pitch Condition: Hard 
Match Events00:26 Try to Sean Mertz for Albany Knicks Men
01:21 Tom Breslin adds 2 more points with a successful conversion for Albany Knicks Men 
13:59 Try to Scottie Bergen for Albany Knicks Men
14:34 Tom Breslin adds 2 more points with a successful conversion for Albany Knicks Men 
19:01 Old Gold add 5 points with a try
19:37 Old Gold fail to get the conversion
28:03 Old Gold score a try 
28:44 Old Gold add another 2 points for the conversion 
32:18 Try to Tom Breslin for Albany Knicks Men
33:03 Albany Knicks Men's Tom Breslin misses the conversion 
52:46 Old Gold add 5 points with a try
53:31 Old Gold get the conversion
70:41 Old Gold get the penalty kick
74:27 Albany Knicks Men's Tom Breslin has just scored a great try 
75:14 Tom Breslin adds 2 more points with a successful conversion for Albany Knicks Men 

B-Side 28-0 them
A-Side Man of the match Matt G
B-side man of the match Marty White


Following is the match summary:

Match Date: 28/09/2013 
Match Start Time: 13:04:11 
Home Team: Albany Knicks Men 
Away Team: Amoskeag Men 
End Score: 29 - 42 
Weather: Sunny 
Pitch Condition: Hard 
Match Events01:00 Albany Knicks Men's David O'Neill has just scored a great try 
01:41 Tom Breslin adds 2 more points with a successful conversion for Albany Knicks Men 
06:39 Steve Roy comes off the pitch for Albany Knicks Men as a substitution is made 
07:05 David Malizia is brought on as a substitute for Albany Knicks Men 
07:59 Albany Knicks Men's Tom Breslin gets the penalty
09:34 Amoskeag Men get the penalty kick
12:47 Amoskeag Men get the penalty kick
19:31 Amoskeag Men get the conversion
19:38 Amoskeag Men score a try 
22:58 Jesse Boehme comes off the pitch for Albany Knicks Men as a substitution is made 
23:05 Brain Killips is brought on as a substitute for Albany Knicks Men 
27:58 Try for Amoskeag Men
28:21 Amoskeag Men add another 2 points for the conversion 
35:40 Amoskeag Men add 5 points with a try
35:40 Amoskeag Men add another 2 points for the conversion 
45:50 Try to Matt Guilfoy for Albany Knicks Men
46:43 Tom Breslin adds 2 more points with a successful conversion for Albany Knicks Men 
48:38 Amoskeag Men get the penalty kick
53:21 Amoskeag Men miss a penalty goal kick 
59:16 Albany Knicks Men perform a sub for Alex Rufer 
59:22 Todd Drake is brought on as a substitute for Albany Knicks Men 
62:42 Amoskeag Men add 5 points with a try
63:32 Amoskeag Men fail to get the conversion
67:06 Albany Knicks Men's Tom Breslin has just scored a great try 
67:54 Tom Breslin adds 2 more points with a successful conversion for Albany Knicks Men 
70:34 Amoskeag Men add 5 points with a try
71:33 Amoskeag Men get the conversion
82:45 Try to Murph Lill for Albany Knicks Men
83:33 Albany Knicks Men's Tom Breslin misses the conversion 

This match report was generated by RugbyReporter Pro!

 The Albany Knicks came back from 17-3 at halftime and 24-13 with 5 minutes to go to defeat the New Haven Old Black 25-24.  Down by 11 points at the 75 minute mark, Albany’s comeback began with the New Haven fullback being yellow carded for a submarine tackle on Tom Breslin who was in the air in the attempt to catch a kick just inside the Knicks half.  After a kick to touch, Albany was able to secure the subsequent lineout and Murphy Lill broke through the New Haven line on a set play to score a try and bring the Knicks to 24-18.  The Knicks secured the ensuing kick-off and were immediately back on the attack.  After several phases of play, Steve Arango was loose on the left wing and would have crossed the line if not for a high tackle.  Albany was awarded a penalty try and Breslin converted to go in front 25-24.  The concomitant yellow card left Old Black with 13 players.  Still, with more than 2 minutes left on the clock, New Haven, as expected from a top team in the standings, wasn’t done.  New Haven pressured until the Knicks committed a penalty giving Old Black a chance to escape.  The kick went wide and it was the Knicks who escaped with the win.
 
New Haven opened the scoring at the 12 minute mark. After taking an Albany scrum, the Old Black No. 8 picked and ran 15 meters through the Knicks defense to put his team up 5-0.  At 20 minutes, Breslin converted a penalty to make the score 5-3.  The New Haven scrum began to assert itself with regularity putting constant pressure on the Knicks.  This finally paid off for the visitors as they scored 2 tries (one converted) in the final 5 minutes of the half to go into the break 17-3.  New Haven could have put up more points, but handling errors ended several threats. 
 
Things looked bleak for the Knicks as they were down and now faced a very brisk wind.  Albany instead came out in the second half and met the challenge.  Scrums improved and lineouts produced allowing the Knicks to maintain possession from the set.  This allowed the Knicks to finally go on the attack.  The backline, led by Dave O’Neill and Scott Bergen, was able to make use of the possession provided by the forwards and put Albany into the New Haven end.  Justin Snide powered into goal from a penalty 5 meters out and the Knicks drew to 17-8.  Shortly after that Breslin powered over the right wing making the score 17-13.  Both teams stepped up the intensity, but neither was able make headway until New Haven put the ball to its right wing who found space with a nifty kick that he was able to gather and run in for the try.  With the conversion, New Haven took a 24-13 lead – setting up the dramatic finish. 
 
The Knicks improve to 3-1 picking up max standings points (5) and New Haven falls to 3-1, but picks up 2 points.
 
While the second half comeback had the Knicks leaving with the win, there are several areas in which we have to improve to reach our potential.  Numerous missed tackles and ineffective scrumming in the first half had us constantly on the back foot.  This created a high penalty count and the deep hole we found ourselves in.  The positive takeaways are improvements made in these areas in the second half and the clean ball taken from each of the restarts.  (That’s 2 Jo !!)
 
Man of the Match was Dave O’Neill. 
 
1   Hensel (Roy @50)
2   Rufer (Grimm @50)
3   Cosgrove
4   Boehme
5   Snide
6   Killips
7   Fleischmann (Guilfoy @50)
8   Judge
9  Cirone (Arango @70)
10 O’Neill
11 Breslin (Capt.)
12 Mertz
13 Lill
14 Ayoreh
15 Bergen
 
16 Grimm
17 Roy
18 Guilfoy
19 Drake
20 Mink
21 Arango
22 Kelly
23 Williams
 
In the B Match Albany dropped its first game of the season 29-21 to New Haven.  Brandon Murphy opened the scoring with a powerful run for a try.  Hugh Kelly converted.  New Haven was able to use the wind and pinned the Knicks deep in their territory which resulted in 3 tries (all converted) and Penalty Kick in the first half.  New Haven was able to score first in the second half to go up 29-7.  The Knicks responded by putting pressure on the visitors.  Evan Mullen scored 2 tries which Kelly converted and the Knicks were able to pull to 29-21 before time ran out.

The Knicks returned home this week to take on local rivals Saratoga Stampede.  Play was intense from the kick-off as would be expected in the local derby.  Saratoga drew first blood as consistent pressure eventually drew an overload situation that resulted with the Stampede touching down in the right corner less than 4 minutes into the contest.  Saratoga maintained its pressure and several minutes later caused a penalty that was converted for a 8-0 advantage for the visitors.  After the restart, Sean Mertz blocked an attempted clearing kick that Murphy Lill scooped up and ran in from 20 meters.  Tom Breslin converted and the Knicks closed to 8-7.  Saratoga continued its pressure which resulted in a slicing run through the Knicks defense and an answering try to put the score at 13-7.  That would be all for Saratoga.  The Knicks began to take control of the possession and territory which ended with a Justin Snide power run for a try.  Breslin converted and the Knicks had the lead.   Tom Breslin was next to cross the line. He converted and the Knicks went into halftime with a 21-13 lead. 
 
The second half was all Albany; in possession, territory and on the scoreboard.  Scott Bergen and Joe Judge sandwiched tries around Murphy Lill’s highlight 70 meter darting run for a try (Breslin converted).  Murph’s run came off a set play from a lineout which left several Saratoga players waving at air as he cut through the defense.  The final score was 38-13. 
 
After a slow start, the Knicks came to control play and thus the game.  Albany used its advantage in possession and territory to keep Saratoga under wraps for the final 60 minutes of play.  A big positive was restarts.  Albany took clean ball from each kick-off and, therefore, was able to re-apply pressure immediately.  Snide and Cosgrove were of note in this regard.  Scrums were more stable and consistent which settled play in times of need.  Lineouts were generally clean which allowed possession to be maintained.  Areas for improvement include missed tackles, handling errors and being slow to the tackle which caused penalties and a negative turnover rate.  
 
Murphy Lill was named Man of the Match. 
 
15 Bergen
14 Ayoreh
13 Lill
12 Mertz
11 Breslin
10 O’Neill (Kelly @ 79)
9   Cirone (Arango @70)
1   Hensel (Roy @ 70)
2   Rufer (Grimm @ 50)
3   Cosgrove (Milizia @ 65)
4   Boehme (Matt G. @ 68)
5   Snide
6   Reigert (Fleischmann @ 48)
7   Morton
8   Judge
 
16 Grimm
17 Milizia
18 Roy
19 Brooks
20 Fleischmann
21 Kelly
22 Arango
23 Matt G. 
 
In the B Match, Albany continued its winning ways with a 29-10 win.  Tries were scored by the ageless Marty White, Hugh Kelly, Evan Mullen, Nate Meehan and Matt Guilfoy; Charles Colley converting 2.  Albany had the run of play controlling the game from the onset to improve to 3-0 on the season.  

Albany opened it's 2013 NERFU season with a win at home against Providence Rugby on Sunday.

The Knicks got off to a 19-3 lead in the first half with tries from Murphy Lil, Sean Mertz (converted by Tom Breslin), and Philip Ayoreh (converted by Breslin).  In an all-too-familiar scenario however, much of that lead was squandered when the Knicks gave up a converted try with less than 5 minutes to go in the half, making the halftime score 19-10.

The Knicks got off to a quick start in the second half, with a try from fullback Scottie Bergen (converted by Breslin).  This promising start was not maintained, and defensive lapses saw the Knicks quickly give up two converted tries, reducing Albany's lead to 2 points, 26-24, with most of the half left to play.
Soon however, the early signs of fatigue shown by Providence's big forwards transformed into a defensive collapse, and it seemed that every line-break or counterattack from Albany resulted in a try.  Scottie Bergen ran in his second, followed by one from Steve Arango (converted by Breslin), a second from Murph (converted by Breslin), one from David O'Neill (converted by Breslin), and finally Sean Mertz's second (converted by Breslin).
Providence managed one more converted try late in the second, to bring the final score to 59-31.

There were several players who put in good performances for the Knicks.  Tommy's kicking was excellent after an early miscue, and he hit multiple touchline conversions.  Jesse put in a typically excellent defensive performance, with aggressive tackling early on disrupting any chance for Providence to establish their forward running game.  Murphy Lil seemed to have a sixth sense, picking off passes and collecting loose balls.  Most often when something went amiss for Providence, Murph was there.  Murphy's law, anyone?

The man of the match was Scottie Bergen at fullback.  ALL of his counterattacks were effective.  A very large portion of the Knicks' second-half tally came off of his breaks.  He was at the center of what Albany did well in this match, which was exploit and score from counterattacks and turnovers.

Not everything went well for the Knicks.  Albany's defensive performance was erratic at best.  Many of Providence's points came from Albany failing to maintain a cohesive defensive line.  Most often Albany's mistake was not advancing to tackle Providence's players at or behind the gain line.  One try in particular came soon after a tapped penalty where Providence's runners started fully 10 meters behind the mark (20 meters between the two teams).  Instead of closing off space and meeting the runners at the gain line, Albany's defenders advanced only about 2 meters, giving away territory, momentum, and front-foot ball, which was soon turned into points.

Albany's other weakness was rucking.  Often Albany's body position in rucks was simply terrible, resulting in turnovers, slow ball, penalties, and too many players committed to rucks.

The result of this match is promising for Albany, particularly the total commitment to counterattacks that resulted in so many points in the second half.  The best teams in the world set themselves apart by ruthlessly exploiting their opponents' mistakes, and Albany would do well to follow their example.

Let's keep training hard and fix our problems.  Our opponents will be much tougher on the 7th.

Cody

May 4, 2013
Cranford, NJ
Albany 28- Union 36

The Knicks traveled south, down to Cranford, NJ,  to face the Union Mudturtles RFC this past Saturday.  It was also Dorian Simes last match with the club as he is heading overseas on his never-ending world tour and the boys may have been looking a little too forward to the night to be had in NYC.  Albany went down to Union in the 1st game 36-28.  Steve Arango and Jesse Boehme played solid but Scottie Bergen landed Man of the Matches honor for his strong play at flyhalf – covering for the injured David O’Neill.  The men fell 31-22 in the B match with most players putting in a second match due to light travel numbers.  Recent high school graduate and CDYR alum Justin Snide was named Man of the Match with even the home team noting his strong play.  Albany will use the final week of the season to prepare for the NERFU Cup, to be held at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, RI on the weekend of May 11th & 12th.

A Side
1 Dave Malizia
2 Nick St. John
3 Steve Roy
4 Jesse Boehme
5 Jeff Cosgrove (off @ 56 min)
6 Jason Reigart
7 Alex Brooks
8 Brian Killips
9 Gordon Eddy
10 Scottie Bergen (C)
11 Kurt Williams
12 Rev Protain
13 Murphy Lill
14 Steve Arango
15 Dorian Simes
16 Justin Snide (@ 56 min)

B Side
1 Frank Williams
2 Alex Rufer
3 Dave Malizia (off @ Half)
4 Justin Snide
5 Jeff Cosgrove
6 Steve Roy (off @35)
7 Gordon Eddy
8 Brandon Murphy
9 Steve Arango
10 Kevin Warren
11 Marty White
12 Donnie Marion
13 Dorian Simes
14 Bryan Lynch
15 Kurt Williams
16 Jesse Boehme (On @ Half)
17 Jason Reigart (On @35)

Albany, NY
April 20, 2013
Albany 31-Saratoga 23

Albany welcomed the Saratoga Stampede to Dick Green Field on Saturday in what was expected to be an intense match.  Saratoga is gearing up for a run at the Div. III National Championship before making the leap into Div. II competition next fall.  There was a decent crowd of old boys there to support the Knicks, with Mike Jones watching as well.  Saratoga had no shortage of fans either.  Both sides had loads of talent.  While Albany stuck with their core players, Saratoga opted to test several combinations throughout the match, with many Stampede players trying to lock in their spot on the 25 man playoff roster.

Albany got on the board first as wing Scottie Bergen worked the far sideline after receiving a pass from fullback Dorian Simes.  Captain Tom Breslin could not convert the difficult kick into the wind but the Knicks led 5-0 at 7 minutes in.  Saratoga came back 7 minutes later though when their kicker, aided by the strong wind, landed a long range penalty.  5-3 Albany at 14 minutes.  The Knicks answered though when eightman Brandon Bailey muscled his way over the try line just right of the posts after several pick and go attempts.  Breslin had a better angle this time and slotted the conversion to give Albany a 12-3 lead.  Saratoga came back again though and at the 27 minute mark scored a try right under the posts with a nice crash ball right up the middle with their backs.  The conversion was made and it was 12-10 to Albany.  Bergen scored Albany’s third try six minutes later, where once again he found himself receiving another ball along the far sideline.  He had a little bit of work to do to beat some cover defense but was able to round the corner and finish under the posts; leaving Breslin with an easy conversion. Albany was now up 19-10.  Saratoga finished the scoring in the first half as they worked their way downfield and were awarded a penalty just shy of the whistle.  They converted successful on the penalty kick and went into the break down by 6 points.   Things got interesting in the second half with Saratoga striking first, off a turnover in midfield twelve minutes in.  The conversion missed and Albany’s lead was one point.  It remained 19-18 in Albany’s favor for the next 18 minutes until Saratoga crossed again and took their first lead.  Saratoga was up 23-19 and Albany knew they weren’t going to get many chances with 10 minutes to go.  In a key moment with about 5 minutes to go Breslin opted for the lineout over a penalty kick.  Albany secured the lineout ball and maintained possession for several phases before Brandon Bailey was able to power his way through two defenders and score what would be the winning try.  Breslin missed the conversion leaving the score at 24-23.  There were three tense minutes left with Saratoga trying desperately to get back into the Albany half.  Each attempt was thwarted and Albany was doing everything it could to hang on.  With less than 30 seconds to go Albany pivot David O’Neill punched a line drive kick towards the opposition fullback, the kick was mishandled just outside Saratoga’s line and flanker Cody Morton raced to the loose ball, picked it up and scored to seal the victory.  Breslin converted to end the game 31-23 to Albany.  A lot of players rose to the occasion but flanker Cody Morton was all over the field and made several key tackles that stopped the Saratoga offense in their tracks.  He also moved to inside center when Sean Mertz went down with an ankle injury.  The try at the end was a testament to his fitness.

A side
Dave Malizia
Sean Bayliss (Nick St. John @ halftime)
Jeff Cosgrove
Jesse Boehme
Max Schuler
Jason Reigart
Cody Morton
Brandon Bailey
Steve Arango (Todd Martin @ halftime)
David O'Neill
Tommy Breslin (Captain)
Sean Mertz (Brian Killips @ 70’)
Murphy Lill
Scottie Bergen
Dorian Simes

Saratoga won the B match 5-0.  The match was scoreless well into the 2ndhalf when Saratoga took a turnover ball from mid-field and raced down the left sideline.  Albany had several attempts to put points on the board but failed to execute.  Scrumhalf Tim Pendergast earned man of the match honors for Albany.

Robert Grimm
Alex Rufer
Steve Roy
Eric O'Bryan
Thomas Sage (Steve Arango @ 50’)
Todd Drake
Brian Killips
Joe Judge
Timmy Prendergast
Kevin Warren
Damien Lopez (Bryan Lynch @ halftime)
Donnie Marion
Rev Protain
Marty White (Bill Zedaker @ 50’)
Dave Mink

Albany travels to Syracuse on 4/27 to play a round robin tournament against Buffalo, Syracuse, and Rochester in what is being billed as the I-90 tournament.

April 13, 2012
Albany, NY
Albany 93 - Rochester 0

The Rochester Aardvarks traveled down the I-90 corridor to play Albany at Dick Green Field on a cool spring day. Albany started strong with the first try coming just 6 minutes in.  The home side crossed the try line 15 times and kept the visitors scoreless.  The match saw several 2nd side players get valuable time which will strengthen the bench as the season continues.

A side
Dave Malizia
Sean Bayliss
Jeff Cosgrove
Jesse Boehme (@ 38’ Brian Killips)
Eric O’Bryan
Jason Reigart (@53’ Alex Brooks)
Cody Morton
Max Schuler
Gordo Eddy
David O’Neill
Tom Breslin (Captain)
Sean Mertz (@ 45’ Kurt Willms)
Murphy Lill
Scottie Bergen
Dorian Simes

Man of the Match – Tommy Breslin

Scoring Summary: Tries: Sean Mertz (3), Tom Breslin (3), Cody Morton (3), David Malizia, David O’Neill, Max Schuler, Brian Killips, Murphy Lill, and Scottie Bergen.  Conversions: Breslin (9 out of 15)

The Knicks were left scrambling Thursday night to find a B side opponent after finding out Rochester would only travel with 16. Thankfully RPI agreed to send a side over.  The Engineers have come through countless times to help Albany in moments like these and the club is grateful. Albany was up 20-5 before RPI came back to within 5 points but 2 late tries by Albany helped the Knicks claim their 2nd B side win of the season.

Albany 32 - RPI 15

B side
Steve Roy
Alex Rufer
Frank Williams
Rich O’Brien
Thomas Sage
Brandon Murphy
Alex Brooks
Brian Killips
Steve Arango (Captain)
Kevin Warren
Tim Pendergast
Rev Protain
Kurt Willms
Marty White
Dave Mink

Man of the Match – Rich O’Brien

 Subs – Bob Grimm, Joe Judge, Bill Zedaker

Scoring Summary: Tries – Rev Protain, Marty White, Rich O’Brien, Brandon Murphy, Kurt Willms, Steve Arango; Conversions – Tim Pendergast (0 of 5); Kurt Willms (1 of 1)

The Knicks take on local rivals Saratoga Rugby Club next Saturday, April 20th at Dick Green Field. Saratoga is gearing up for a run at the USA Rugby Div. III Championship. Kickoff is at 11:00am with a full day of rugby to follow, including a B match and several women’s games.