The Northeastern Maddogs were defeated by the Babson Beavers in the first round of the Liberty Rugby Conference, or LRC, playoffs Nov. 5. The top-seeded Maddogs were looking to remain unbeaten after concluding an undefeated regular season the week prior, while the Beavers were looking for an upset win that would send them to the LRC D-1AA finals and qualify them for the National Collegiate Rugby tournament.
The Maddogs started the game off firing. A well-placed lineout in the third minute allowed the Dogs to form a powerful maul that caught its momentum and inched toward the Babson try line. Northeastern’s second-year scrum-half Alex Brescio snuck the ball out of the chaos and dished it out left to first-year fly-half Harry Johnston, who feigned left and promptly took his run right back toward the madness. He then passed to second-year left-wing Ryan Esfahanian, who brought it in for a try. The conversion kick from the sideline proved too tight an angle for fourth-year outside center Bobby Walker, and his missed kick left the score at 5-0.
Quickly after, Johnston again found himself with the ball pushing toward Babson’s try zone. He placed a precise kick over the line, which found the hands of first-year inside-center Dom Falso, who placed the try down right beside the goal posts. The conversion kick was easily made by Walker, and the score was 12-0.
In the face of Northeastern’s hot start, Babson began to find its gameplan. Though the Beavers were slow to defend their rucks and were flat-footed when starting their lines, what they lacked in quickness, they made up for in strength. Northeastern tackles couldn’t bring their forwards down, and a series of pummeling runs from their forwards saw the Beavers secure their first try in the 14th minute. The placement of the try left their kicker with a conversion attempt all the way up against the sideline to the left of the goalpost. Despite an excellent effort with the tough angle, the kick bounced off the crossbar and only left Babson with five points for its effort, bringing the score to 12-5 Northeastern.
With the scoring opened up for both teams, Northeastern tried to retain its foothold over the game’s momentum with a couple of strong phases that snaked across the field. A long pass was errantly floated over the middle of the field for an easy interception by Babson, giving the team a headstart that couldn’t be reconciled; the Beavers took in the try and converted the kick, making it even at 12-12.
Despite the setback, Northeastern found itself back on Babson’s 5-yard line with a scrum a short two minutes later. After a strong push from the home team, third-year forward Ian McTaggart took the ball out of the back himself and went in for the try. The Huskies added another converted kick from Walker, bringing the score to 19-12.
The last 20 minutes of the half reintroduced earlier themes of changing possession and ball-handling troubles, with the ball often changing hands on a whim thanks to bobbled passes and miscalculated offloads. Babson managed to squeak out a penalty kick to narrow Northeastern’s lead,19-15, but in the 33rd minute, a wayward lineout left the ball bouncing around the Beaver’s try line, where it was intentionally swatted away from the chasing grasp of the Maddogs. The Maddogs were promptly awarded a penalty try for this infringement, making the score 26-15 for the Maddogs.
Just before the end of the half, Babson’s No. 1 received a pass from the scrum-half and powered down the field, shedding Northeastern tackles and parading in for a try. The kick was converted, and the score seemed ready to settle at 26-22 going into halftime.
When the Beavers received the following kickoff, they attempted to punt the ball out of bounds to certify this end to the half, but the punt was just short and landed in the hands of Johnston. Johnston started his run back toward the Babson defense, which was charging toward him. He made a long and early pass to fourth-year Dilyn McHugh, who ran toward the wing, forcing the Babson defenders to make a choice between him or Walker, who was now running alongside him. When the defenders chose McHugh, he dished the ball to Walker, who used his speed to charge down the sidelines and cut into the middle. He broke four tackles before being finally brought down, but it was too late, as he was already under the goal posts. His try and his conversion kick secured a halftime score of 33-22 in favor of Northeastern.
The scoring in the second half got off to a much slower start than the first, with the Maddogs not adding to their total until the 50th minute. Two huge carries from McTaggart and second-year forward Ansel Lee took the ball to the 5-yard line. Northeastern’s forwards then came in to power the ball through the line, and subsequently all of Babson’s big men came to meet them.
The Dogs pummeled and the Beavers held strong. Away from the chaos, the wing was starting to fan out in preparation for a quick swing to the end. Just as it became clear the sideline was primed for exploitation, the ball popped out of the calamity and found the hands of Brescio, who had enough of waiting, sneaking a dive in directly under the goalposts for a try. Walker was left with an easy conversion and made the score 40-22.
After a quiet ten minutes of play, the Beavers had possession of the ball for a penalty scrum on the 5-yard line. The teams interlocked with a powerful delicacy, and after a moment of contained collision, Babson’s eight-man ripped a page out of McTaggart’s book, taking it himself out the back for a try under the goalposts. The kick was converted, and the score was 40-29 for Northeastern with 20 minutes left.
With both teams clearly spent, the game fell into an all out dog fight. Possession was no longer the word of the day, and both sides found trouble holding onto the egg and protecting it in their rucks. The game continued like this until the 74th minute, when McTaggart woke everyone up with a huge carry downfield. Brescio picked the ball and continued the run. Just before Babson defenders honed in on him, he placed a perfectly timed kick over the collapsing defensive line, which was caught in the air by a chasing Esfahanian who took the ball in with a celebratory dive. The kick was converted to put the score at 47-29, and the momentum was unquestionable. The Maddogs assumed it would be an easy victory from here on out, but it wouldn’t work out in their favor.
In the 79th minute, the Beavers snuck in a try with the kick to accompany it and brought the score an inch closer at 47-36. This score still didn’t seem to change the atmosphere much, as many had yet to realize that the time on the scoreboard was a handful of minutes short of the official time remaining, which is dictated by the referee’s watch. Due to stoppages in play for substitutions and injuries, the actual time left in the game gave Babson a generous nine minutes to keep its fight alive.
Off of Northeastern’s kickoff, the Beavers came right back at them and, after a few quick moves across the field, ushered their eight-man in for a try. A missed kick left the score at 47-41, but the implication remained: Babson needed one more try and kick to secure the comeback.
The Babson receiver bobbled the kickoff out of bounds, and for a moment, a sigh of relief seemed to pass through the Northeastern fans in attendance. But after the Maddogs inbounded the ball, they weren’t able to hold onto it long enough to close out the game. The Beavers quickly regained possession and marauded up the field. With every carry, the hearts of the Northeastern fans sank, and the excitement of the Babson supporters rose.
Babson maneuvered themselves to Northeastern’s try line, and the Maddogs line were finally pierced underneath their own goalposts. The score was 47-46 as the Babson kicker lined up for his most important conversion of the season. Carter Playground was unusually quiet — even the Orange Line seemed to tip-toe past the dramatic moment. As the kicker moved toward the ball, the Maddogs ran to block the kick, but it was too late and too high.
The Babson bench swarmed the field and lofted the kicker in celebration, while the Northeastern players collapsed where they stood. Final score: 48-47 Babson.
