This fall was a busy and successful season for the Mystics. Things got underway with a bang late in the summer with the merger between the Mystics and Middlesex, as the club’s membership spiked and we went from fielding two teams to four overnight. Huge congratulations are definitely in order for the coaching staff for rapidly integrating all of the players into the club’s new structure. Thank you to Josh Smith, Jake Sprague, Glen Mannering and Lee “Burgers” Bartlett for all your work this season.
The season officially kicked off with the 40th Anniversary celebrations in early September. It was a great weekend that was attended by Mystics from all four decades of the club’s history, including 16 of the original club founders! It was truly exceptional to share a weekend of unbridled Mysticism and friendship with Mystics who can remember the club’s earliest days and with those who’d just joined the fold. Huge thanks are due to Brett Willis and Chris O’Donnell for organizing the weekend. (For those that missed the weekend, we still have a number of Mystic Hawaiian shirts available, but only in XXL).
While the D1 non-league opener against Boston didn’t go our way, the boys showed some true grit in the heat. They didn’t look back from there, and went on to win their five league games by a combined score of 206 – 71. The only close match of the season came at Hartford after a two week break, where the boys fought hard to come away with a 21 – 16 victory. The Mystics are 5-0 in the league and look to be in a very strong position to challenge for a spot at Nationals in the spring. There are still a few league matches to complete before playoffs, but we have our eyes set on winning out the league and going far into the post-season.
NERFU D1 League Table
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BP | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mystic River | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 206 | 71 | 135 | 3 | 23 |
| White Plains | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 175 | 135 | 40 | 4 | 16 |
| Hartford | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 191 | 170 | 21 | 4 | 12 |
| Portland | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 108 | 97 | 11 | 3 | 11 |
| Amoskeag | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 85 | 292 | -207 | 1 | 1 |
The D2 Barbarians had to face fewer expectations coming into the season, but they still blew them away with a spectacular 8-1 season. They amassed 437 points in nine games, and only conceded 162 points. Their one loss was a tight 15 – 21 defeat against New Haven, who made it to the D2 Final Four last spring before losing to the D2 National Champion by a point. The Barbarians also had two more gutsy wins, with a narrow 25-24 defeat of Saratoga, and a huge comeback win against Worcester, where the boys fought back from a 0-22 deficit to walk away with a 31-22 victory. The Barbarians have completed their league schedule, so they will be prepping for playoffs come the spring. However, their chances of going far are also good if they can get through the two local playoff rounds.
NERFU D2 League Table
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BP | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Haven | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 329 | 112 | 217 | 7 | 43 |
| Mystic River | 9 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 446 | 162 | 284 | 8 | 40 |
| Worcester | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 334 | 105 | 229 | 8 | 32 |
| Saratoga Springs | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 339 | 215 | 124 | 7 | 31 |
| Newport | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 251 | 171 | 80 | 6 | 30 |
| Albany | 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 225 | 255 | -30 | 6 | 18 |
| South Shore | 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 257 | 339 | -82 | 4 | 16 |
| Old Gold | 9 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 178 | 356 | -178 | 2 | 12 |
| Providence | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 106 | 356 | -250 | 3 | 9 |
| Burlington | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 112 | 506 | -394 | 2 | 2 |
Beyond the rugby itself, the merger of the Mystics and Middlesex has gone incredibly well. With two competitive teams playing league rugby, as well as at least one other team playing each weekend, we’ve been able to offer a rugby home to far more players. It also means that we’re seeing competition for spots on multiple teams as well as a lot of hard work and development to improve our overall rugby. We still have plenty of room to grow as a club, but it’s been exciting to see how this season has progressed.