Amherst, Mass.—Plymouth State University’s Men’s club team, the Norsemen Rugby Football Club, fell to Amherst College this past Saturday, October 1st, at Amherst’s rugby pitch, 17-5.
The muddy field conditions and steady rainfall slowed down the usually faster Norsemen. Amherst took advantage immediately, attacking the visiting team with a score less than a minute into the match, taking a five-point lead. Plymouth State’s Norsemen responded at the end of the first half by getting on the scoreboard when Mike Armstrong (Nashua, N.H.) picked up a Joe Irvine (Bridgewater, Mass.) kick and offloaded it to Connor Sousa (Nashua, N.H.) as he was getting tackled. Sousa recorded the Norsemen’s only points of the match. PSU held the home team to 5-5 for the remainder of the first half, but soon fell to the bigger Amherst College team, letting up two more scores and a two-point kick in the second half. “We came out flat in the beginning, but then we started playing smarter and tougher,” said Senior Ryan Cross (Barre, Vermont).
The Norsemen Rugby Football Club is dealing with the loss of graduates from last season and young recruits who are still learning the sport. With the loss, they drop to 1-1 on the season, including their September 25th opening victory over Castleton State College, 52-10. For Cross, the hopes for this season are still high, “This team has a lot of potential. We have a good chance at being a top contender.”
The Norsemen will look to get back on the winning track on Saturday, October 8th against Franklin Pierce University.