The clock ran out on the men’s rugby team Saturday — along with its playoff hopes.
“Trinity managed to tie the game with a minute or two left,” Luis Neiman ’03 said. “We were in scoring position at the end of the game.”
But Yale (2-1-1, 2-1-1 New England) failed to score and tied Trinity College (1-1-1, 1-1-1) at home 12-12, failing in poor weather conditions to salvage their postseason chances.
Had there been more game time, Neiman said, the Bulldogs would have pulled through with a victory.
Andrew Williams ’04 and Jakow Treskow ’04 each scored a try for the Bulldogs. Rugby president Mark Marion ’03 contributed a conversion kick. A try is worth 5 points and is scored by touching the ball to the ground in the opponent’s try zone. The conversion following a try is worth 2 points and involves kicking the ball through the uprights.
“The forwards played extremely well,” Neiman said. “The backs played well, too, although I think the weather was a bit of a factor there.”
But Marion’s conversion attempt following Yale’s second try failed, leaving the Elis with a vulnerable lead.
Treskow scored Yale’s second try on the right side of the try zone, setting up Marion’s kick from the right, Neiman said. But Marion, a right-footed kicker, found the ball too wet to put through the posts.
Injuries also hurt the Bulldogs, who played without Neiman and captain Micah Block ’03. Neiman has a knee injury and Block is still recovering from a kick received to his face against the Coast Guard Academy Sept. 21.
“Our replacements really stepped it up,” Neiman said.
With only two victories, Yale will not qualify for the New England Championships Oct. 26. Instead, Yale will schedule a scrimmage against a local club team.
Neiman said Block would be back for the scrimmage that will prepare the squad for the Harvard and Princeton contests in November.
Saturday was the last official game of league play in the fall season of the New England Rugby Football Union. The Bulldogs won a forfeit to Central Connecticut State University, 7-0, Oct. 5 and beat Fairfield 34-10 Sept. 28. The Elis lost to Coast Guard 22-0.