Needing to win out the rest of its schedule in order to compete for the NCAA tournament, the men's rugby team took a giant stride towards avenging its early season loss by beating Delaware on Saturday.
Already with one loss in the Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union, the Tigers (2-1) must win the rest of their games to defend their EPRU championship from 2001. An early season loss to EPRU rival West Chester, on Sept. 14, put Princeton in a deep hole, but after convincing wins against East Stroudsburg, 58-0, and Delaware, 36-21, the Tigers are now back on track to defend their title.
After a surprisingly successful 2001-2002 season in which the team upset Delaware in the EPRU finals and then barely lost to No. 5 Navy at the Mid Atlantic Rugby Football Union tournament, the Tigers have returned 13 of the 15 starters, and many members of the Princeton University Rugby Football Club see this year as the team's best chance to win an Ivy League title and to compete in the NCAA tournament.
Saturday's match against Delaware was the first of many must-win games for the Tigers this season. Knowing the importance of the game, Princeton jumped out early against the Blue Hens, and scored a penalty kick six minutes, 33 seconds into the half.
With a 19-0 lead after the first half, the Tigers entered the final 45 minutes expecting to cruise through the second half. With the Tigers driving down the field, possibly on the verge of another score, Delaware's fullback knocked the ball out of a Tiger ruck, and then with a fluke kick, placed the ball just inside the Princeton tri zone.
In a sprint to the back left corner, the Delaware winger beat Princeton's junior fullback Chris Baker to the ball, and scored a tri.
Dazed by the sudden turn of events, the momentum quickly shifted from the Princeton side to the newly energized Blue Hens. Delaware again drove down the field and scored another tri — cutting the Princeton lead to five, making the score 19-14.
Still in shock, the Princeton team needed a jolt to regain control of the game. Junior scrum half and captain Mike Carvin provided the spark to regain momentum for the Tigers. After a dropped ball by the Delaware flanker, Carvin picked up the loose ball and sprinted 70 meters for the tri.
"I was absolutely shocked," junior eight man Josh Girvin said. "I was in the middle of a ruck and when I finally looked up I saw Carvin on the other end of the field diving into the tri zone."
"He is just a fantastic player. He always knows what to do, and whenever the team needs a lift, Carvin is the guy to do it," junior prop Nate Rawlings said.
Even after this sudden score, Delaware kept the game close by scoring a tri at 78:54, making the score 26-21. With the game still in question, junior lock Mark Baur picked up a loose ball and rumbled through the Delaware fullback to make the score 33-21.
With Baur's tri, the Tigers had a commanding lead, but there was still an issue of point differential.
After the 12-point loss to West Chester, the Tigers needed to beat Delaware by more than 12 points. In the waning seconds of the game, sophomore fly half Cameron Young redeemed himself for missing multiple kicks earlier in the half by scoring his final kick from 25 meters out, making the final score 36-21.
"I was getting pretty nervous in the second half when it looked like Delaware might take the lead, but Carvin's tri and the strong play by the forwards really carried us to victory," head coach Tom MacFarlane '88 said.
"Beating Delaware was pivotal for our season. I know it was very important to them too. After our two point victory against them in the EPRU championship last year, I am sure they wanted revenge."
If Princeton had lost this game, they would not have qualified for the EPRU playoffs, let alone the championship game. While the bulk of the men's rugby season occurs in the spring, the Tigers' must win the EPRU to qualify for the MARFU tournament.
The top three finishers of the MARFU tournament then go on to compete in the NCAA tournament. The Tigers play next at Penn on Oct. 12.
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