ROCHESTER. NY – The Nazareth College Rugby team defense was strong all day as the Golden Flyers posted three shutouts and did not allow any opponent to score more than one try against them all day as Nazareth won the Inaugural Golden Flyers 7's Tournament. The team took possession of the Peter Bothner Cup as tournament champions.
Nazareth posted two consecutive shutouts to start the tournament with a 36-0 win over Cortland, a 52-0 win over Fredonia before downing Cortland 35-5 to advance to the tournament semifinal match against RIT. The Golden Flyers posted a convincing 31-5 win over the Tigers and then won a 19-7 decision over Syracuse University in the championship game to cap the day.
"It was a solid team performance all around today, from the gents who worked the event to the players that left it all out there on the field," said Head Coach Taye Daniel-Ayibiowu. "To go undefeated on day and crowned the first ever Golden Flyers 7's Peter Bothner cup champs are the results of the hard work and dedication of a group of special young men that continue to buy into team and working for each other."
Against Cortland to start the day, Tyreik Thomas and Owen Fitzwater each scored twice while Jacob Townsand, Dylan Swincicki and Kyle Decker added one try each for the Golden Flyers.
Against Fredonia, Khyree Poole opened the game with a burst up the middle for an early lead before Townsend scored on a pass from Swincicki, Joseph Sergent scored on a pass from Poole and Fitzwater capped the first half scoring for a 24-0 lead.
Fitzwater opened the second half with his second try of the game before Decker and Swincicki finished off the scoring in the second half for the 52-0 win.
Townsend started the win over Cortland in the first round of bracket play before Fitzwater scored to give Nazareth a 14-0 edge.
Cortland used a length-of-the-field run for a try late in the first half to trim the lead to 14-5 but Townsend added a long run at the end of the half for a 21-5 lead.
After a defensive battle for the first several minutes of the second half, Poole used a burst of speed for a long run down the sideline for a 28-5 lead and Cristian Marrero took a run from midfield to score for the final difference and a 35-5 win.
RIT won to earn a spot in the semifinal match against Nazareth and scored early for a 5-0 lead after taking a short run in off the first possession of the contest.
Nazareth recovered quickly as Decker took off on a long run and used a late toss to Fitzwater for the try and a 7-5 Nazareth lead.
Another Decker long run ended in the try zone with 10 seconds left in the first half and the Golden Flyers took a 14-5 lead into the break.
Decker had a great run early in the second half as he used a spin move to get free and Abdulaye Sy capped the effort for his first try of the day and a 19-5 lead.
Thomas ran in from the midfield for another try and Poole had a run after a scrum late in the half to a 31-5 Nazareth win to advance to the title match.
Syracuse used an early surge to threaten in the opening minutes but a huge tackle by Decker and a steal stopped the Orange offense
Midway through the half, Townsend made a nice pass to Thomas who raced in from 20 meters out for the first score of the game and a 7-0 Nazareth lead.
Decker had another huge tackle as Syracuse was on the verge of scoring but Syracuse scored two minutes later as the first half came to a close. The conversion kick bounced off the upright and in for a 7-7 tie at the break.
Early in the second half, Poole took off again from midfield and flew past the defense for a run up the middle and a try for a 14-7 lead.
Syracuse drove down the field again but a tackle near the try line resulted in a scrum and Poole picked up the loose ball and raced the length of the field for the try as Nazareth extended the lead to 19-7.
A late push by Syracuse was stopped again by a huge Thomas tackle and Nazareth took over possession to run out the clock for the win.
Nazareth will play at Fairfield University next weekend in the last leg of the Liberty Rugby Conference (LRC) competition.
"We continue to build our resume in efforts to secure a selection/bid to the biggest tournament of the season, the Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC) 7's Tournament at New Orleans in May," said Daniel-Ayibiowu. "A big win like this over a strong Syracuse team in a cup final puts us in the conversation for selection to the CRC Tournament."
