Last Saturday, the Mystics hosted New York Athletic Club at Pine Banks Park in a matchup between the last two USA D1 National Champions. The match lived up to its billing as a hard-fought contest between two elite teams, but the Mystics lost a nail-biter of a match by a score of 22-27.
Expectations for the match were sky-high after the two clubs split victories during D1 league play last year. The Mystics opened the scoring with prop Luke Schlotmanpowering in an early try. Center Alatasi Tupou slotted the conversion to give the Mystics a 7-0 lead. NYAC was able to obtain a converted penalty try through Mystic infractions, bringing the teams back to 7-7. The teams then traded penalties to keep the scores even at 10-10. As time wore down in the half, fullback Nick Fujiwara latched onto a chip kick and ran in a try. Tupou converted, giving the Mystics a 17-10 lead at half time.
After the break, NYAC came out with all the momentum, and they scored two converted tries and a penalty to give themselves a 27-17 lead. Despite time running low, the Mystics did not give up and stayed on the offensive. Winger Chris Frazier gave the Mystics hope after he scored an unconverted try to bring the score back to 22-27 with three minutes to play. Flyhalf Robbie Malneek broke through the line and carried the ball all the way to the NYAC 22, but the Mystics couldn’t convert the prime field position into points, and NYAC hung on to claim a narrow victory.
Division 1 will look to rebound next Saturday when the team travels to Weymouth to play Boston RFC at 1:30 pm. Mystic River won their last matchup against Boston 86-0 and they will look to improve on their 2-2 ARP standing. The field is located at Union Point/Southfield, 400 Shea Memorial Drive, Weymouth, MA.
Prior to that match, the Old Boys will be playing in their final match of the season, so Old Boys please come out for a day of rugby!
Division 2 will also be on the road for a NERFU matchup against Worcester RFC at 1pm. This should be a great contest between of the only undefeated teams — Worcester is 6-0 and the Mystic Barbarians are 4-0. The Barbarians defeated NYAC’s B-side 24-20 this past Saturday and will look to carry that victory over to this upcoming Saturday. The field is located at 44 Circuit Ave N, Worcester, MA.
Upcoming Schedule
10/15 (SAT) 12:00pm – Old Boys at Boston RFC
10/15 (SAT) 1:30pm – D1/ARP at Boston RFC
10/15 (SAT) 1:00pm – D2 at Worcester RFC
Please consider traveling to support either of our teams for these great matchups. Thank you to all our sponsors and Mystic Nation for your unwavering support!
GO BLUE !!