New York, NY - The Danes traveled south on 87 to the newly renovated Randall's dIsland athletic fields for the Village Lions hosted 4 Leaf Rugby Tournament. The Danes opened with an early morining kick off on very blustery, cold day against Clarion of University out of PA. Clarion struck first when No. 8 Thomas Dietz drove over the Danes line on a short plunge off of a driving maul. Early second half saw much improvement by the Albany pack to settle down Clarion's drive and offer a platform for the Albany's attack. Scrum half Jake Touhey served Dylan Gandy's backline the ball and Alex Trataros took the the ball home to tie the game at 5. Clarion would answer with spin ball to the backs where winger Seth Johnson downed the ball in the corner. Albany would counter and with under a minute left in regulation find them selfs with a 15 meter scrum directly in front of the posts however, they were unable to steal Clarion ball and any chance of victory dashed.
In the second match, due to the cancellation of Hofstra U, Albany showed improved form and would play most of the game in Clarion territory. Albany captain Jake Touhey scored the lone points of the game mid way through the second half when he executed a pop kick over the Clarion defense for a chase down catch and score. This was a great victory and a great day of rugby for the Danes. Albany utilized in both games a split side which included as many as 7 players who were in there first ever rugby game. Coach Durant's comment "We were able to come down here and be competitive while accomplishing our goal of Getting everyone game experience. It is a testament to our veterans who who played hard and remained positive despite the mistakes that happen when you go young. Our new players have shown great dedication and patience in their first two weeks in the program and I look forward to see how they progress as the season continues."
Albany travels acroos the Hudson River on Wednesday, April 7th to take on a much improved RPI side and will follow that with big spring game Vs. NERFU powerhouse UCONN on Saturday, April 10th.
