Dartmouth men's rugby rounded out the regular season Saturday with a 36-0 win over the University of Massachusetts Minutemen. The win gave Dartmouth a final record of 4-1, its only loss suffered to Army in the second game played. The dominating win, which would normally be celebrated as a fantastic end to the season, was bittersweet as the Dartmouth ruggers lost starting forward Omar Foda '07 for the season.
Midway through the first half, Foda entered a ruck and collided heads with a teammate. The blow resulted in a concussion and an on-field seizure. Play stopped while Foda was attended to and an ambulance was called.
"It's so frustrating because the whole situation only occurred because Omar is such a good, aggressive player," DRFC president Scott Penner '06 said.
"It was incredibly scary to sit in the locker room while your teammate and friend was being rushed to the hospital, but it sounds like he's going to be alright, and that's the most important thing."
Foda was taken to the hospital and was released after passing precautionary tests. Both on and off the field Foda embodied the spirit of Dartmouth rugby. One of the most aggressive players on the team, Foda consistently left everything he had on the field every game.
"In losing Omar, we lost one of the most punishing tacklers in the northeast and one of the most endearing characters off of the pitch," remarked Tom Monahan '06. "We wish him a speedy recovery and a return to the pitch in the future."
As the Dartmouth ruggers have done all season, they adjusted to the injury and teammates played out the game with the same desire Foda would have shown. The forward pack to start the game was already drastically different from the start of the season and had no problem adjusting as Brent Clayton '07 stepped in for Foda.
The actual play of the game saw Dartmouth overmatch UMass in almost all facets of play. Steady rain led to muddy conditions and sloppy play on both sides. Adapting to the situation, Dartmouth employed a strategy of more forward play than usual.
With UMass pushed back in its defensive zone, a miscue on a lineout led to an interception by Dartmouth co-captain Joe Killefer '06. After avoiding an initial tackle, Killefer passed to captain Jesse Blom '06 who broke through the UMass defense to touch the ball down for the first try of the game. Andrew Caspary '06 converted the kick after to make the score 7-0.
Keeping the pressure up, Dartmouth kept the ball in UMass's half of the field. Looking for the break that would lead to another try, Killefer took the ball off of a lineout. After he called a set play, the backs passed the ball through the hands until it reached Aziz Sayigh '07 who ran twenty meters to touch the ball down for a try. Caspary converted again to increase Dartmouth's lead to 14-0.
Killefer tallied another Dartmouth try with ten minutes remaining. After the Dartmouth pack overpowered UMass to steal its scrum, Killefer picked up the ball and ran 30 meters through the UMass defense for the try. Caspary missed the conversion, but quickly made up for it with a penalty kick to bring the score to 22-0.
Dartmouth almost scored a fourth try of the half, but just as Angad Banga '06 broke into open space on the right side of the field to give himself a partial breakaway Jared Hyatt '06 cut in front of Banga looking for a pass. The referee deemed the move an obstruction and the whistle was blown for the half.
"I don't know what Jared was thinking there. A Ferrari couldn't catch me on that play," Banga commented bitterly. "It was a certain try if he wasn't looking for all the glory."
Not wanting internal strife, Killefer stepped in to resolve the conflict at halftime. "Jared is letting his new role as a starter get to his head," Killefer said. "He is a good player and still improving, but he's no All-American."
The beginning of the second half saw almost a replica of Killefer's try in the first half. To score his second try of the game, Killefer again took the ball from a stolen UMass scrum and ran past the defenders to increase the already large Dartmouth lead. With Caspary making the conversion, the score was 29-0.
Dartmouth rounded out the scoring with its fifth and final try ten minutes later. Taking the ball off of a ruck Tom Manzo '07 distributed the ball to Sayigh. Crashing hard on the play, Penner received the ball a moment after and his momentum carried him into the try zone. Caspary converted the kick to bring the final score to 36-0.
Heading into the postseason, Dartmouth takes a three-game win streak into the most important game of the year to date. This Saturday the ruggers will face off against Yale in the first round of the playoffs.
