ROCHESTER, NY (Nazathletics.com) - The Nazareth Golden Flyers traveled to Oswego on Halloween for their last rugby match of the Fall 2026 season. Oswego came into the game ranked #26 in National Collegiate Rugby Division 2, while Nazareth had been flirting with a Top 40 ranking all season. The two teams were evenly matched as Nazareth entered 3rd in the Liberty Rugby Conference standings ahead of Oswego in 4th.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
The match was electric from start to finish. Nazareth opened the scoring with a lightning strike from mid field off of a turnover and penalty committed by Oswego. Senior Captain and Fly Half, Sal Hernandez, passed the ball to Sophomore Number 8, Zakariah Zaddem, for the 5 point Try. Hernandez converted it for a 7-0 lead one minute into the game.

Oswego stormed back a couple of minutes later to make the game 7-5. From there the action was intense, fast paced, and physical. Oswego had hard runners that were met with big tackles from Nazareth. The hits could be felt on the sideline as both teams left everything on the field.

Back and forth scoring continued the entire match with Oswego eventually carving out a small lead late in the game. The Oswego offense was powered by their strong ball carrying and off load passing. Nazareth kept pace with offensive speed, kicking, and open field passing.

In the end Oswego scored 7 tries for a score of 45 while Nazareth scored 5 tries for a score of 33. Nazareth ends their season 4-4 with several impressive wins. The most impressive win for Nazareth this Fall came at home against Binghamton. Nazareth completed the upset win with a score on the last play of the game. Unfortunately, Nazareth lost this one to a motivated Oswego team that is eyeing the post season.

UP NEXT:
Nazareth Rugby will host a High School Rugby tournament on Saturday 11/14 to put a cap on what has been a successful season for the Golden Flyers. They've returned to NCR 15s competition after not competing last year.

The Golden Flyers will be back in action in Spring 2027 looking to continue to build. Fans should keep an eye out for Golden Flyers 7s Tournament coming in April. Thank you to the Nazareth University community, rugby alumni, families, and all of the Naz rugby supporters on campus and off for your support this season and beyond.