Men finish up home games with another win

September 29, 2012
Albany, NY
Albany 43- Newport 7

The Albany Knicks downed Providence 43-7 in front of a large crowd to remain undefeated and take their record to 4-0.  The weather was overcast with no wind and Dick Green Field was in great shape.  Albany got on the board quickly in the 1st minute as eight man Brandon Bailey took a nice offload from Max Schuler and raced down the right sideline from about 15 meters out to score his first try of the season.  Conversion was missed.  Bailey scored again at the 5 minute mark, this time from the back of a 5 meter scrum, breaking a couple of tackles to power in for his second try.  Conversion by Scottie Bergen.  Providence had plenty of possession but uncharacteristic poor handling let them down and constant pressure by Albany led directly to the next two tries.  In the 21st minute winger Scottie Bergen chased down a loose ball in the Providence try zone to extend Albany's lead.  Conversion by Bergen.  Albany pivot David O'Neill finished off the 1st half scoring grabbing a loose ball off the ground and stepping past 3 defenders to score just left of the posts.  Bergen added the conversion and Albany went into the break up 26-0.  Albany got right back to it when Bergen scored a beautiful team try 4 minutes into the 2nd stanza which started from a good lineout ball just outside the Providence 22m.  The difficult sideline conversion was missed.  Providence got its first points a few minutes later off a well worked lineout and backline move.  The try was converted and with 30 minutes remaining the score was 31-7 Albany.  Knick fullback Todd Martin then glided past several defenders to score at the 53rd minute.  Conversion by Bergen.  Albany then ran on its reserves to give them valuable game time.  Reserve wing Rev Protain rounded out the scoring with 6 minutes to go when the Albany scrum provided a good platform for the backline to launch a successful move.  Final score 43-7.  Brandon Bailey was a force with ball in hand and received the Man of the Match award for his efforts.

Albany will use the upcoming bye week to nurse some injuries and rest before they hit the road for three straight weekends.  The Knicks' next match is October 13 at Charles River Rugby Club out of Boston, MA.

A-side (Subs)
1. Nate Murphy
2. Sean Bayliss (Grimm @ 55')
3. Steve Roy
4. Max Schuler
5. Jesse Boehme (Hensel @ 65')
6. Jason Riegart
7. Cody Morton
8. Brandon Bailey
9. Cono Cirone (Protain @ 65')
10. David O'Neill (captain)
11. Phil Ayoreh
12. Sean Mertz
13. Murph Lill (Warren @ 70')
14. Scottie Bergen
15. Todd Martin

Providence prevailed in the B game 19-12; scoring two 2nd half tries to come from behind.  Things looked good for Albany when wing Rev Protain scored the 1st of his two tries just 4 minutes in.  Conversion made by Colley.  Protain scored again at the 17 minute mark.  However, poor tackling and some inexperience allowed Providence to rally and claim the victory.  Flanker Alex Brooks has been coming back in to the form he showed last year and was a positive presence during the entire match.  It was that positive attitude and "team-first" mentality that made him a no-brainer for Man of the Match.

B-side (Subs)
1. Jeff Hensel
2. Nick St. John
3. Dave Malizia
4. Caine LaJeunesse (Bonventre @ 32')
5. Matt Zapala
6. Ryan Sweet (Rufer @ 34')
7. Alex Brooks
8. Steve Lansing (Judge @ 34')
9. Steve Arango
10. Kevin Warren
11. Marty White
12. Greg Berck
13. Rev Protain
14. Pat Newman (Zedaker @ 40')
15. Charles Colley

Following the B game both sides were treated to an excellent women's match as the Albany Sirens hosted NOVA.  It was a close match but NOVA prevailed.