SIENA, New York – The American International College men's rugby team downed Siena 27-15 in the Liberty Rugby Conference opener for both teams on Saturday, September 6.
AIC is 1-0 overall and in LRC play.
The Yellow Jackets jumped on the Saints early, with Demitrius Ta'ape scoring the season's first try just 4:40 into the game; Ivan Rossi converted for a 7-0 lead.
However, both defenses locked in after that, and the score remained even until nearly half an hour into the contest, when Terry Jayaguru finally was able to put the ball down in the try zone at 29:30. German Rossi kicked through the bonus two for a 14-0 Yellow Jackets advantage.
The Saints took advantage of a yellow card late in the half to put in their first score of the game in stoppage time, although the conversion kick missed, leaving AIC ahead 14-5 at the break.
In the second half, the scoring came quickly again. German Rossi booted a penalty kick through at 3:42, but Siena responded just 3:01 later with a try to close the gap to 17-10.
The next sequence of the game saw strong defense from both sides, especially from the Yellow Jackets, who had to play man down for a significant portion of the period thanks to another yellow card, but ultimately did not yield. The next points were on another kick, as Ivan Rossi knocked home three more at 25:40.
Yet another yellow late allowed the Saints some home, and they scored a try with 2:52 to play to pull within five, but Reginald Chidawanyika, who came on as a late substitute, snuffed out any home by responding almost immediately, and German Rossi's conversion sealed the 27-15 win.
Director of Rugby Jamison Bonti praised Chidawanyika's effort, noting that he "came on and provided massive energy and go forward ball as a substitute," and also spoke highly of Mateo Castro's performance, saying he "helped orchestrate forward play, communicated well, and was tenacious on defense."
AIC opens up the home portion of its schedule on Sunday, September 14 at 1:00 p.m. as part of a rugby doubleheader where the men will face Iona University; the women's rugby team will then face Sacred Heart University at 5:00 p.m.
