Endicott Advances To Championship Game In National Qualifier

CANTON, Mass. –  The Endicott men's club rugby team traveled to Canton, Mass. for the DII National Qualifier on Saturday and advanced to the championship match against Salve Regina before falling to the Seahawks 25-14. The Gulls faced a challenging gauntlet of completion including matches against Wentworth, Western New England, Wheaton and Mass. Maritime.

The Gulls opened the day with a 27-7 victory over WNE. "They were big, tough and fast," said Endicott men's rugby head coach Bob Ryman. "We were the more disciplined team which paid off for us in the end."

The Gulls were led with great individual efforts from senior Brian Sussingham (Yonkers, N.Y.), junior Conor O'Neill (Chester, N.J.) and senior Mavrick MacEachern (Manchester, Mass.).

Next, the Gulls topped Wheaton in dominant fashion with a 26-12 victory. "They came out strong putting two tries up to our one in the first half," said Ryman. "We were able to gain our composure in the second half and performed much better."

Sussingham again led the charge for the Gulls with three tries and two conversions as well as junior Marc Lerebours (Norwalk, Conn.) who scored one try.

In the third match of the day the Gulls earned another decisive victory over Mass. Maritime, winning 36-7. 

In the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, the Gulls earned dominant victories over Wentworth and WNE, respectively, before facing Salve Regina in the finals.

In the finals, the Gulls squared off against conference foe Salve Regina falling 25-14. "We expected a challenging match up against Salve," said Ryman. "We beat them earlier in the season so we thought we had the edge."

Ryman continued.

"Overall, it was a tough loss for us but the season is not over yet," said Ryman. "We came out slow in some matches and hungry in others. We overcame adversity throughout the day and that led us to the championship."

The Gulls will return to action Friday, April 29th traveling to Salem State for a 7:00 start. 

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