Kutztown MVP Nicolle Dudkewic (left) lining up the tackle. •
10.26 update: The original version of this article erroneously stated that the MARC semifinalists had already been decided. The fourth berth hinges on St. Joseph’s and Drexel’s performances this weekend.
The Mid-Atlantic Rugby Conference (MARC) will determine its semifinal match-ups after this weekend, and all four teams will be heading to regional playoffs. MARC contains both DII and NSCRO teams, and they all compete toward the MARC conference title. Beyond the league championship, teams then follow DII and NSCRO pathways. This season, three of four finalists are DII, one is NSCRO, and they’ll all take the allotted seeds to post-conference playoffs.
There is one more week of league play, but the Pennsylvania division reps have been decided. Standings leaders York College (NSCRO) and Bloomsburg (DII) – both undefeated – finish the regular season against each other. York outlasted Scranton last weekend in a 6-5 victory in terrible playing conditions.
Interestingly, the two other Pennsylvania division matches pit teams with identical records against each other. Scranton and East Stroudsburg (which defeated Millersville 36-17 last weekend) are both 2-3, while Millersville and Lock Haven are both 0-5. Hopefully the field will finish their respective seasons against comparable competition.
The Tri-State division was highlighted by a top-of-the-table showdown between Kutztown and St. Joseph’s, but the Golden Bears shut out the Hawks 49-0 last weekend.
“St. Joseph’s University is a really good team. They play an exciting brand of rugby that really keeps teams on their toes,” Kutztown coach Sean Cobb noted. “The weather slowed both teams down and neither team was able to run their offense seamlessly. The wind meant we couldn’t really play the open version of rugby that we wanted to, so we had to revert to the old ground-and-pound methodology. It wasn’t a pretty game by any stretch of the imagination, but a win is a win, especially against a team as good as St Joe’s.”
Kutztown sophomore Nicolle Dudkewic was named woman of the match for her fantastic open-field tackling and quality running with ball in hand. Both teams have one more league match.
Kutztown is guaranteed a semifinal berth, while the fourth spot will come down to St. Joseph’s and Drexel. St. Joseph’s plays The College of New Jersey, while Drexel plays Kutztown this weekend.
Drexel took a 7-0 lead against Delaware by making good use of a knock-on on the kickoff. The Blue Hens then took control of the first half for a 19-7 halftime lead. The second half was marked by good defense. Both teams dotted down once more, and Delaware took home the 26-12 victory.
Finally, Rowan University got its first-ever DII win ever with a 53-5 decision over LaSalle University last Friday. LaSalle then turned around to play The College of New Jersey on Saturday, and dropped its sixth match of the season 49-0.
The MARC final four occurs Nov. 5-6 and will see Bloomsburg, Kutztown, York and either St. Joseph’s or Drexel compete. Regardless of the conference championship outcome, York will take the MARC automatic qualifier to NSCRO playoffs, while the remainder will play for seeds to the DII Round of 32.
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