Mystics Reclaim Bull Moose Crown

NORTH CONWAY, NH - Two Mystic sides made the trek north to compete in Mt. Washington Valley RFC's 6th Annual Rugby on the Rockpile Tournament. After a disappointing third place finish last year, the Mystics came out with guns blazing defeating Burlington and Portland to take home the championship, the fifth since the tournaments inception in 2003. In the Social Division, the Mystics Second XV defeated Saranac Lake and Central Maine, to go on to take second place honors against Middlesex in the final round. A superb showing all around for the Mystics.

Rugby Revolution - Melrose Free Press

Mystic River sails into Sweet 16 Tournament
By Christopher Hurley / churley@cnc.com
From Wicked Local: Melrose / Melrose Free Press (www.wickedlocal.com/melrose)

The Malden-based rugby team recently captured its first Northeast Championship since 1992. And after defeating the Schuylkill River Exiles, 38-12, at Pine Banks Park, April 13, Mystic River has already secured a spot in the National Sweet 16 Tournament in Austin, Texas, May 17-18.

“We’re playing lights out right now,” said Mystic River captain Pat Doherty. “We have one of the best forward packs in the Northeast for Division I and our backline is really coming together.”

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Mystics Secure Spot in Sweet 16

PINE BANKS - Rivers collided in Malden as the Mystics hosted MARFU's Schuylkill River Exiles. With the Mystics leading 18-0 at the half, the Exiles came out firing with a second half rally, but it just wasn't enough as tries by Dustin MacPherson, Jamie Green, Jake Sprague, and Joe Shurmaitis along with four penalty goals and three conversions from Mystic Skipper Pat Doherty helped the Mystics secure a 38-12 victory, and a spot in the D-1 Sweet 16 tourney.

In the second match of the afternoon, led by recently appointed captain Bobby Ankenbauer, the Mystic Second XV took on the Exile 2nds in a hard fought match in less than ideal conditions, with the two teams being deadlocked 17-17 at the final whistle.

CR4 Quarterfinals Set Up Tough Semis

From American Rugby News (www.americanrugbynews.com)
Posted in: Division I
By Brian Lowe

In the other quarterfinal, Mystic River got the better of their Mid-Atlantic opponents from Schuylkill River winning 38-12.

The Mystics led 18-0 at halftime and went on with the job in the second forty, although they didn’t have things all their own way as Schuylkill River fought back and notched a couple of tries to make a game of it.

Mystic River scored four tries by Dustin MacPherson, Jamie Green, Jake Sprague, and Joe Shurmaitis. Skipper Pat Doherty hit four penalty goals and three conversions.

“They didn’t break, they have a lot of heart,” Mystic River's Doherty told ARN. “The Sweet 16 is pretty much what we’ve had in mind all season, and we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, but it’s good to know we’ve made it that far.”

The semifinals and final will be played in Philadelphia on the weekend of April 26-27 to determine which teams get what seeds for the national playoffs.

Maryland will face Long Island in one semi, while Mystic River will see White Plains in the other.

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CR4 Playoffs This Weekend

From Goff On Rugby (http://www.erugbynews.com/)
Posted in: Amateur Competitions > Division 1 Clubs
By Alex Goff

There's one game where the host team is heavily favored, Mystic River against Schuylkill River (the River Showdown), and there's one matchup of teams that realistically weren't expected to do much of anything and have surprised all - Long Island emerged in the playoffs as a force and finished second in the Northeast, and Media, up from DII and unsure what to expect, are #3 in MARFU.

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CR4 Playoffs Go To Next Stage

From American Rugby News (www.americanrugbynews.com)

Posted in: Division I
By Brian Lowe & Nick Priscott (guest contributor)

The Mystics go into the quarterfinal stage of the postseason as one of the hot shot teams in DI anywhere in the country. They won the New England title last fall, and then backed that up by clinching the NRU championship two weeks ago.

Long Island was the form team in the Met New York competition during the fall and finished second to Mystic River in the NRU championships.

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Mystics Mix It Up Against Amoskeag

PINE BANKS - With a run for a national title on the horizon, the Mystics decided to try out some roster variations in a friendly against Amoskeag. Mystic Coach Scot Durkin decided to mix things up by starting several Second XV players at key positions as he tried to finalize the Mystic roster going into the playoffs. Though they were knocked out of the playoffs in the early rounds, Amoskeag still proved a worthy foe, with the Mystics taking a tight match 15-13.

(Photos by Rei Hayashi)