Not once, but twice, the Princeton men's rugby team was seconds away from winning its semifinal game against West Chester University and qualifying for the Mid Atlantic Rugby Football Union (MARFU) Championship. But on some days, a team is not meant to win.
After a try at the end of regulation and a penalty kick at the end of the second overtime, West Chester won the game in triple overtime and sent the Tigers into a fight for third-place against Delaware.
After going undefeated through the regular season of the Eastern
Pennsylvania Rugby Union (EPRU), the team was in the perfect position to win its third EPRU title in three years, as it entered the EPRU playoffs seeded first.
The Tigers hosted West Chester in the semifinal round, a repeat of the EPRU championship game of 2002. The Rams were looking for revenge after Princeton beat West Chester to win the 2002 title game, 42-7.
The Tigers entered the game healthy and confident. Missing only two starters to season-ending injuries, the Tigers had almost the entire starting lineup healthy. With few reserves, however, the team lacked depth.
Princeton took an early lead to start the game. At about 10 minutes into the first half, senior captain Mike Carvin gave the team a 3-0 lead by scoring a kick from 10 meters out. The Tigers held this lead through the entire half, but with about 15 minutes remaining the Tigers lost a key component to its offense when sophomore lock Ian MacQueen left the game with a concussion.
West Chester evened the score early in the second half by scoring on a penalty kick. Unfazed, the Tigers went back on the attack. At about 20 minutes into the half, Princeton moved the ball deep into the West Chester zone. West Chester gave the Tigers a lineout from five-meters away of the try-line due to a ball-handling miscue. With a perfect throw by senior Ben Handzo, senior Wade Perrin took the lineout and the Tiger forwards powered the rolling maul into the try zone, making the score 8-3.
With a five-point lead, the Tigers needed their defense to hold off the desperate West Chester attack. For the next 19 minutes, Princeton stopped every attacking drive from West Chester, but with 30 seconds left in the game, West Chester finally capitalized and sent the game into overtime.
The Tigers went on the attack first, scoring a penalty kick to make the score 11-8. In the second period, Princeton maintained control of the ball, but a kick by West Chester gave the Rams possession deep in the Tiger zone. The Princeton defense looked in control, but the referee penalized the Tigers and, with only 5 seconds remaining in the game, West Chester tied it with a last-second penalty kick. The Rams once again evened the score, and sent the game into triple-overtime. Now playing in sudden death, West Chester went on the attack first, and the Tigers did not have time to regroup and stop the Ram's offense. At the 105th minute of the game, West Chester drove the ball across the Princeton try-line and won the game, 16-11.
While the Tigers were frustrated after the loss, the season was not over. The EPRU has three seeds in the MARFU tournament, and a victory against Delaware in the consolation game would qualify Princeton for the spring tournament.
The Tigers started strong against Delaware, with junior fly-half Cameron Young kicking two penalty kicks in the first half. But after a questionable yellow card against Young, Delaware capitalized on the one-man advantage and scored a try to give it a 7-6 lead going into halftime.
Coming out of the half, the Tigers again took the lead by scoring another penalty kick. But with 20 minutes remaining in the game, Delaware drove down the field and its scrum-half snuck under a ruck to make the score 14-9.
Frustrated, the Tigers refused to go down without a fight. In one of the best Princeton attacks all season, the Tigers moved the ball deep into the Delaware half. Princeton ran several tight balls at the Delaware defense, but it could not break the gain line. In a smart move by the scrum-half, Carvin made a fake dummy to the forwards, but then sent the ball wide to the backs. With the ball touching every player's hands, sophomore wing Rob Schimmel ran through the Delaware defense to score the go-ahead try. Young then converted a difficult kick, giving the Tigers a 16-14 lead.
But Delaware's offense was not finished. With both teams fighting for the ball, Delaware moved the ball away from the forwards and out to its backs. The Blue Hens then drove the ball deep into the Princeton zone. The Tigers stopped several phases, but Delaware found open space and scored the winning try, making the final score 19-16.
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