Teams To Watch as Liberty Conference Kicks Off
By Alex Goff | Goff Rugby Report
The Liberty Conference enters a bit of a new phase with a two-tiered competition and perhaps we will see some teams put their hands up as being potentially a Tier 1 even if they're now in Tier 2.
It will be a bit of a struggle as the division is partly based on school support, with the Tier 2 really being a Tier 2 Club. But it's possible.
Teams on our mind this week:
Fairfield. Buffalo has a good group of players and Fairfield beat UB convincingly last week, which followed up on their August 24 defeat of Nazareth. Of course Fairfield decides to take the week off this week but they are still a team to watch.
Head Coach Austin Ryan liked his squad, which returns the vast majority of last season's A-side. They have depth, too, fielding a side in the Tri-State Conference's D2 competition as well. With over 70 players in the men's program, Ryan has a wealth of options and a need to find game time for them all.
Fairfield is led by captain and Scholastic All-American Nick Lapponese at No, 8, and he has started where he left off last year, plying superbly, leading well, and scoring five tries in the first warmup games. Daniel Enright, flyhalf who is a convert from Gaelic football has a superb boot and unleashed two 50-22s against Buffalo. John Thompson, who was a standout at Gonzaga and is the grandson of legendary Georgetown basketball coach of the same name, has been excellent at flanker. His work rate, physicality, and rugby IQ are excellent.
Chris Giunta and Rob Betsais are younger players who have plenty of skills; Giunta is a center with a good sidestep and Betsais is a hardworking lock who played every minute last season.
Iona. The Gaels won last week but their victory wasn't exactly dominant in their victoria over UMass. They take on Fordham this week in a league game in Tier 1 and Iona has some key shoes to fill.
Brown and Syracuse. Brown opened their season with a very convincing win over Endicott that really didn't tell anyone much. But Brown won the Ivy League last year, surprising many by beating Dartmouth (who had had a stranglehold on that conference for years). There's no Ivy League 15s competition now (hence the whole being in the Liberty thing), and Brown probably won't be able to sneak up on anyone now. They play Syracuse this week and the Hammerheads are coming off a really nice 29-17 win over a tough Binghamton team.
Head Coach Bob Wilson said Syracuse is starting to find its feet after the COVID shutdowns, which really had an effect these last two years. Most of their starting 15 is made up of first- and second-year students.
"We are still getting to know the way that we all play," Wilson said. As for the game against Binghamton, Wilson was cautious in his praise. "There has been some good rugby but plenty of errors particularly with regard to possession, penalties, and defensive structure."
First-year players Patrick Hefright and Nick Davis showed quite well, and with juniors Carter Lewis and Joseph Hamm leading nicely they have potential. How that compares to Brown we will see.
Siena. We covered Siena in some detail last season as a small college that, thanks to program director Gregg Matthews being in the school's admissions department found a way to spell out to good rugby players how to get into the school and get financial help. It worked out with a dominant win in NCR's Small College Challenge playoffs. This prompted them to jump up to the Liberty D1AA Club bracket, and they open against Albany.
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