The A team

Without a match the proceeding weekend Mystic River was eager to take the field against Dartmouth College, in Hanover, NH.  The day started with confusion Dartmouth having scheduled matches against both Mystic River and Northeastern University.  This was resolved with Mystic River A playing Dartmouth A-side and the B-side playing Northeastern A-side.

Dartmouth opened the match strong with their backs running well, scoring a penalty in the opening 3 minutes. The game continued at a furious pace, with both teams making mistakes in the forwards and backs. The game was burst open with a move combining all three back row forwards, allowing Mike York to sprint 50 meters down the blind side making 3 defenders miss before going over to score.  The try was converted by Pascal Manfruelli. The score increased the confidence of the Mystics allowing them to play more positively. The backs were running well with the ball. To produce our second score, a typical Brian Raposo run straight up the middle had him score under the post with 2 opposition players in tow. The try was converted by Martiano Guevara.  The final score of the first half was made by Chris Gayle and followed a fluid handling in the back line that allowed him to out run the defense and score.

Throughout the first half, Mystic River failed to capitalize on the opportunities that arose and gave up an easy try resulting in a half time score line of 19-8.

In the second half, the forwards started to take more control of the game, driving from both set pieces and open play.  All of the forwards handled the ball well and ball retention improved substantially from the first half.  The forward pressure continued and resulted in 2 Neils Pedersen tries, one from a period of open play and the second from a scrum with support by Declan O'Riorden. Both tries were converted by Martiano Guevara.  The game finished with Dartmouth scoring 2 unconverted tries, both scored as Mystic lost the ball in contact and missed tackles in the backs.

The B Team started well against a fit Northeastern team.  The game followed a similar pattern to the A side game, with both sides making mistakes and not executing the opportunities as they came along. Following a change in personnel, Mystic River started to play a more positive style with the forwards running direct at the opposition.  Although we failed to score, the games finished on a better note than we started.