NMT Rugby Teams Go 1-1 in Denver

After upsetting University of Denver 31 to 25, New Mexico Tech Men’s Rugby have booked their spot at next month’s National Collegiate Rugby regional qualifier. The women’s side lost their match 31-20 but have continued to show improvement.

The Socorroans had their work cut out for them when they arrived in Denver on Oct. 24. The following day’s match up was not just on University of Denver’s home turf. It was taking place during their equivalent of 49ers. And that’s not to mention that the side is coached by former Team USA rugby player Cody Melphy, who has at his disposal five assistant coaches and all that a private college with 12 thousands students paying sixty-thousand dollars per year in tuition fees has on offer.

Playing under the shadow of the nation’s first purpose-built rugby stadium in the Denver suburb of Glendale, the Techies seemed rattled. The Pioneers would strike first, finding a two-man overlap on the left side of the pitch six minutes in. Five minutes later they took an easy penalty kick in front of the uprights to stretch the lead to eight.

NMT didn’t find the try zone until three quarters through the first half, when super senior prop forward Niko Crosato found himself far outside the defensive line with nothing but green grass in front of him. But Denver struck back almost immediately, converting a single missed tackle into a try. The home side would score again right before half time, taking the scoreline to 18-7 in their favor.

While the Techies had the dominant forward pack, scoring turnovers at DU’s own scrums, the backline struggled to function in attack. Winger AkongChungong won back several kick offs, only for an errant pass to cause the Techies to lose 10 or 20 yards and all of their momentum.

Within minutes of the second half, it was clear that the game’s dynamics shifted in the second half. Hooker Leon Sutulov and Senior lock Ben Medve had come off the bench, and NMT’s offense seemed to take on a new level of ferocity. Consecutive tries from scrumhalf David Vaquera and Sutulov put Tech in the lead for the first time in the match.

The lead alternated between the two teams for the next ten minutes, with DU first capitalizing on a moment of defensive miscommunication within Tech’s backline. It was center Tristan Herrera who put NMT back in lead, shrugging off several would-be tacklers to score just to the left of the uprights. The match remained deadlocked, with NMT holding a slim two-point advantage, until the 75th minute, when Crosato slipped out unnoticed from a maul with ball in hand to cross the chalk. Vaquera went three for five on conversion kicks, bringing the final score to 31-25.

NMT’s ladies’ team also faced DU later that day, playing three rounds of the 10-person version of rugby. It was a back and forth affair, but the Techies found themselves behind by 11 points late into the third match, with Salinda Stallings, Serena Richardson, and Aleigha Romero all scoring tries. A last minute score from Stallings raised the prospect of an upset, but it was matched by yet another try from the Pioneers. Final score 31-20 in favor of the home side.

NMT’s men’s team travels back to Denver for a two-day qualification tournament (Nov. 22-23). While their opposition has yet to be determined, recent results suggest that NMT may face Cal Poly Humboldt and Oregon Tech in contention for a national division three semifinal spot. The NMT women have 7’s tournament with NMSU and UTEP on Nov. 8 in Las Cruces starting at 10 a.m.

Update: the NMT men’s team will play at home on the Tech field against NAU on Sunday, Nov. 9, at noon.