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La Salle moves up to Division III in USA Rugby

It was announced on December 9th that La Salle University was now going to be added back into Division III of the Eastern Penn Rugby Union.
“This means that we are now a recognized team by USA Rugby, meaning we will be able to compete in playoffs and championships,” said head coach Lou Gana.
The team used to be in Division III before the club missed the Spring 2010 season and was moved to non-division status. The team will now play teams such as Swarthmore, TCNJ and Widener University.
“ I know we will compete with teams in the division,” Gana said, “However, it is up to the team to work harder on and off the field to be a successful team in a tougher division.”
Like many of the young players on the team, Gana has higher hopes for La Salle.
“One of our goals has been accomplished in a short period, which is a testament to the group of guys we have on this team.”

Season Ends on High Note

The La Salle Men’s Rugby team finished up a great fall season with a 60-7 win over Widener Law School. The game remained close early in the first half when Widener responded to a Kyle Harris try, but even though the game was close throughout, signs of a La Salle breakout were evident as several Explorers had great runs, but just could not get in the end zone.
La Salle would finally pull away in the second half, when La Salle was able to get a few hard fought scores. Julian Collins and Anthony Machcinski would score from only a few meters away from the tri zone. Machcinski, a six-foot senior from Kearny, N.J., was not happy with the lack of missed opportunities.
“ We scored a bunch of times, and although its great to be able to win by 53, there were a bunch of missed chances that could have put this game away even earlier.”
The game was the last for senior 8-man Brendan Bartosiewicz. Bartosiewicz would be helped scoreless on the day, but was the leader of a team who had a complete transformation.
“Personally, I thought the freshman stepped up the most, especially in the second half,” said the Bayonne, NJ native, “Winning rucks and beating them in the scrums (was a huge factor in the win), as well as our defense not allowing them to advance at all.”
Bartosiewicz was one of two captains who lead an extremely young team. The team now looks to move into Division III next year and compete for the championship.
“The team stands wherever the players want it to stand. Coming from playing rugby on multiple levels, I would say the team has the potential to do whatever it wants to do in a couple of years.”
One of those freshman is hooker Mario ‘Chico’ Borbon. Borbon had two scores including a long run for a try against Widener and has stepped in at a vital spot for the Explorers.
“It was a huge rush. I was really hyped,” said Borbon about his run. The scores were Borbon’s first and second of his La Salle career.
The team has now completed its season for the fall, and in the next few weeks will release a schedule for the season in the spring

Final Statistics

Number of Tries

Merriman: 6
Machcinski: 4
Carroll: 3
Still: 3
Bartosiewicz: 2
Rueter: 2
Borbon: 2
Wilkerson: 1
Harris: 1
Collins: 1
Dill: 1
New Kid: 1
Kelly: 1
Gallagher: 1

Tight Battle

The beautiful weather at 20th and Olney did not translate onto the field for the Explorers as La Salle to cross-town rival St. Joesph’s 29-24 on Oct. 24.
The game was an up and down battle that had several lead changes between both teams.
Early in the match, La Salle had several chances to score, but selfishness and unnecessary penalties kept the Explorers off the board. It wasn’t until several minutes later in the game that Brendan Kelly would receive a pass from Kyle Harris for the first score of the game. Kelly would miss his conversion attempt.
St. Joe’s would respond back near the end of the first half with a score of their own. The Hawks used a quick attack with several quick taps taken for penalties.
Both teams came out of the second half with momentum and kept an even battle. The score would remain tied until freshman center Andrew Still would intercept a pass from a St. Joe’s player and run it back for the score.
Both teams showed great resiliency and battled back. St. Joe’s would score to tie the game up.
Injuries would plague the Explorers on the day. Sophomore Wing Chad Dill entered the game with a sore thigh. Senior Prop Anthony Machcinski would go down with a bruised quad while Still would join him after suffering a blow to the jaw in a tackle.
The Explorers would go back and forth with St. Joe’s as the team fought to keep pace. Fly-Half Francis Merriman would score two more tries to help the Explorers keep pace, his fifth and sixth tries of the year. The senior was named the captain before the game.
Unfortunately for the Explorers, they could not hold the lead. Shoddy officiating didn’t help their efforts. The referee was accused of bad calls and stalling the game.
While the team lost the game, they should not be discouraged. They failed to give up at all during the game and hung with one of the better teams in division II.
They play their final game of the season at home against Widener Law School on Nov. 8.

Home Opener Victory

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La Salle Men’s Rugby is back on the map after an 84-0 shellacking of Haverford College at McCarthy Field on October 2. This was one of the first rugby games ever on McCarthy Field’s turf and showcased a large crowd of over 300 people.

                Several players took over the match as five players had more than one score. Francis Merriman lead the team in scores and points with four scores and 30 points on the night. Juniors Jack Carroll and John Rueter had breakout with Carroll scoring three times and Rueter scoring once while being defensive and rucking forces for the Explorers.

                Old teammates Brendan Bartosiewicz and Anthony Machcinski had huge hits and great runs leading to two scores each as well.   

                The win was the first non-tournament win for new head coach Lou Gana.

                “All of our new guys played well”, said Gana after the match.

                “La Salle Rugby is back on the map”, said Merriman.

                The Explorers would finish the onslaught of Haverford with scores from sophomore Chad Dill, senior Joe Gallagher, and freshman Alex. Overall, Merriman and fellow senior Brendan Kelly went 7 of 14 on conversion kicks.

                The Explorers will remain home as they face the St. Joseph’s Hawks on October 23.

Liberty Cup

After scrimmage victories over Villanova University and Swarthmore, La Salle Men’s Rugby headed to the Liberty Cup Tournament with a bright outlook. The first game was a battle. La Salle held division 1 University of Pennsylvania to 15 points while the boys were able to tack on 5. The game was a back and forth struggle with La Salle almost taking the lead multiple times holding UPenn back to their goal line. The second game ended up as a hard loss to St. Joseph’s University, while many of the rookies got play time, St. Joe’s was able to trounce the boys by 20 points.  Despite the efforts of Chad Dill and a John Sneh try. The final game showed what La Salle rugby was all about. East Stroudsburg could not control the speed of the LURFC backline along with strong defense. The boys put on an offensive clinic with Chad Dill running in a try, Rob Mara picking off a pass to run it in, and Austin Murray scoring off of a beautiful offload pass. The veterans and rookies both looked promising as the season begins.

The Boys get ready

With a new head coach, talented young players, and determined veterans, La Salle Men’s Rugby Club looks to get off to a fast start. To start off the season the boys will head to the Liberty Cup Tournament, Sept. 11, in Philadelphia at Fairmount Park to face off against University of Pennsylvania, St. Joseph’s University, and East Stroudsburg University. The La Salle community and fans look forward to seeing a new and improved team.

La Salle Men’s Rugby announces new head coach Lou Gana

La Salle University’s Director of CR, Matt Gionta, announced today that Lou Gana will be the head coach for the men’s rugby team starting this fall. Coach Gana played rugby at Albright and helped create the rugby program at Malvern Prep. The LURFC extends a warm welcome to the new coach and looks forward to a promising tenure.

Summer Update

The roster has been updated excluding incoming freshman. If you are interested in joining the team, check out the contact page. We are also looking for an experienced coach and assistant coach so please contact us if you’re interested.