NDC Finishes Rugby East Season With Victory

NDC Finishes Rugby East Season With Victory

A report on the final game of the Rugby East fall 2017 season as Notre Dame College beats Kutztown.

Nov 4, 2017 by Alex Goff
NDC Finishes Rugby East Season With Victory

Notre Dame College finished off the Rugby East season by notching a 44-38 win over Kutztown at KU's home field in Kutztown, PA, on Saturday.

In what wasn't exactly a defensive showcase, the Falcons made a habit of missing touch on their kicks, and the host Golden Bears' explosive deep three launched some effective counter-attacks that led to tries. Notre Dame College struggled to contain Kutztown's wide game but also had a wide game of its own.

NDC's Marcus Tupuola, usually a fullback, started at flyhalf and scored two tries, creating some space on the inside. Andrew Guerra was outstanding and scored two, while Cian Grendon and Cullen Barelka also scored. Corey Graham, moved from flyhalf to fullback, was effective as well.

"We did improve our attack," NDC head coach Jason Fox said. "However, we also mossed some defensive assignments. Overall we played much better and are happy with a win on the road against a very good KU team."

The result actually doesn't shift the conference standings for NDC, as the third-place Falcons were too far behind second-place Army to catch up. Kutztown remains fourth.

All of the other Rugby East teams were in action this week. Army hammered Air Force in a Commander-in-Chief Trophy match. Penn State lost to Navy 38-29 in what was a bit of a surprise.

Wheeling Jesuit lost to University of Notre Dame 41-31, while the bottom two teams in the conference won — Buffalo beat Binghamton and St. Bonaventure upset Davenport 32-31.


Final Rugby East Standings

Rugby East
W
L
T
PF
PA
PD
BT
BL
PTS
Penn State
6
0
0
353
147
206
6
0
30
Army
4
2
0
272
119
153
5
2
23
Notre Dame College
4
2
0
242
182
60
5
1
22
Kutztown
3
3
0
277
193
84
6
1
19
Wheeling Jesuit
2
4
0
211
275
-64
4
1
13
St. Bonaventure
2
4
0
132
258
-126
3
0
11
Buffalo
0
6
0
66
382
-316
0
0
0