Indiana, Pa. - The Barons took to the road for their first match away from campus this fall. They took on the defending DII National Champions IUP. The ARU Collegiate Conference has slated several preseason hybrid matches between D2 teams and D3 teams to help both programs gain valuable experience with D3 teams playing up a level and for the D2 teams to use different starting lineups and play younger guys without the threat of their regular season record being affected. Typically, a very good D2 team will beat a decent D3 soundly whereas a good D3 team can beat a middling D2 team. For Franciscan, unfortunately, IUP is a great rugby team with a lot of their players having successes in winning 15's national championship and back-to-back 7's national championships. This was an opportunity for the Barons to play a tough team and see where they are.

The end result was a 45-5 defeat at the hands of IUP's vaunted attack. The Barons started out well as far as keeping IUP off the score sheet for about 10 minutes. A yellow card sent a Barons player off the pitch for 10 minutes and IUP was able to capitalize on that and scored their first try. They made the conversion, and it was 7-0. It was more of the same for the remainder of the first half as IUP ran hard and broke many of the Barons' feeble tackling attempts. It made for long gains by IUP as Franciscan was constantly on their back heels trying to get back on-sides. They did somewhat well at making the Crimson Hawks work for their tries, but IUP was nonstop with their relentless running. IUP would score three more times in the first half and with two made conversions brought the tally to 26-0.

Franciscan was able to advance the ball here and there but often lost the ball because of a lack of support. They kicked a few times to get out of their territory and try to pin IUP back in their end. IUP made a costly error when one of their players attempted to pass behind him and errantly threw the ball too far as it bounced into IUP's try zone. The resulting play was a 5-meter scrum, which the Barons were able to score after Nick Patryn picked up the ball and went to the weakside to touch it down. It would be the only score of the day for the green and gold. After a spirited halftime talk, the Barons looked to improve on their tackling, rucking and running the ball. They were able to make better tackles and played with more urgency. The Crimson Hawks still managed to score 3 more tries with two converted kicks for the 45-5 win.

The Barons had to replace 6 starters in this one, due to illness and injuries. Several players got their first start as a Baron and others played a different position for their first time. Joseph Moleski turned in a tough performance with several hard tackles at the 10 position and had a proficient day kicking for field position. Freshman Paul Thibault earned Golden Man of the Match starting his first match as a Baron at the inside center #12 spot, leading the team in tackles and almost scoring a try at the end of the match after breaking a tackle and running 25 meters before being held up in the try zone. Freshman Peter Rooney also made his debut at flanker, starting his first match and was named "Dawg" of the match with his tenacious hitting and doing the hard work. Sophomore Andrew Phelan started his first match of the season and did well with his defense. Sophomore John Paul Treece played his third new position in the three matches as he took over scrumhalf duties due to an illness. He did an admirable job filling the position and keeping plays alive with his passing. Senior Johnathan Salamida started his first match ever as well, playing on the wing and made a few nice runs. Newcomer Joe Castellan received some playing time in the 2nd half and had a few tough runs, while Joseph Vasquez returned to the team and helped prevent a try by stripping the ball away from the attacker before he could score the try. The loss was a tough one to endure, but hopefully lessons were learned which will only help to improve the team's growth as they continue to build on their experience in preparation for the regular season conference schedule. 

Next up
The team will get back to work this week as they look forward to traveling to another D2 team in Kent State, for their first ever meeting with them.

Men's Rugby ID Camp
Franciscan Men's Rugby is excited to offer a Prospect Camp for aspiring college athletes on Sunday, November 17th. The camp is open to athletes entering 9th-12th grade this Fall. Participants will have the opportunity to receive training from the men's rugby coaching staff, as well as interact with current players. Campers will participate in a typical Franciscan training session and gain an understanding of the competitive and challenging environment of collegiate athletics. For more information click here

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