This past Sat. the NCSURFC traveled to Fredricksburg Va. to play Mary Washington University a D-2 team in the Virginia Rugby Union.

The Wolfpack were eager to take the field and improve on their last performance a loss to App. St. in the South Championship. This would be  the last match before we play in the Natioal Sixteen.

The match started with the Wolfpack quickly putting pressure on Mary Wash. resulting in a try by #12 Phillip Burcal that was converted by #11 Bryan Maxwell for a 7-0 State lead at 16 mins. The pack continued to control play and scored  a try by #8 Andrew Birch that was converted by #13 Will Teague in the 34th min. to increase the lead to 14-0. State continued to control play but were unable to score any more points in the half. A defensive lapse allowed the Mothers to score a converted try at 38 mins to close the score to 14-7 at the half. The way that the Pack controlled play should have led to more scores but several miscues kept the score closer than it should have been.

The second half started with the Pack controlling play and converting a penalty kick at 43mins by #13 Will Teague to go up 17-7. At 56 mins. #15 Greg Hesler score a try that was converted by Will Teague to increase the score to 24-7 for the Wolfpack. State continued to control play and at times were dominate; but the Pack could not score any more points and had to settle for the 24-7 win over the Mothers. Although the score line should have been much larger the Pack was satisfied with a result that saw them control the match from start to finish.

The Wolfpack next will play in the National Sweet Sixteen on April 17th in Sanford Fl. against the Pacific #1 seed Cal Maritime at 12:00. The Keel Haulers are a perennial contenders in the National Tourney and will present a formidable challenge to the Wolfpack. State will need to play a complete all around match to be able to move into the next round. Scuttlebutt on the game is that we will not be able to compete at this level. The NCSURFC are keen to prove our detractors incorrect. No one gave us a chance in the Carolinas League either but we are the Champions.  The Pack will play on Sun. win or lose on Sat. If we win we will play the winner of Miami of Ohio v/s Middlebury Vermont. Both of these teams finished in the top four last year. If the Pack loses we will play the loser of the same game. This sets the seeds for next years tournament. If the Pack wins both games then we will play in the Final Four in Palo Alto Ca. on Apr. 30th and May 1st. This will be a tall order but our goal will be to get to Stanford University to compete for the National Title.

01 Jon Rogers

02 Steven Bahner

03 Abe Harman

04 Matt Daniel   Eddie Youngs  63 min

05 Aaron McLean  Dylan Martin 56 min

06 Matt Pace

07 Chris Pearce

08 Andrew Birch

09 Criag Maxwell

10 Robby Dow

11 Bryan Maxwell   David McAllister 63 min

12 Phillip Burcal

13 Will Teague

14 Dave Hunt     Brad Bowers 65 min

15 Greg Hesler

Man of the Match  Chris Pearce

Robert McAlister

NCSURFC Coach