COLUMBIA, SC – In the first day of the USA Rugby D1 Sweet 16 Tournament, Mystic River (5) defeated the Detroit Tradesmen (12), who knocked out the Mystics in last year’s Sweet 16 nail biter. Chris Tofte scored two tries, while Bill Dow, Dimitri Efthimiou and Jamie Green added a try each to propel the Mystics into the next round of the Championship Series with a 30-20 victory.
The Mystics will face Life University (4) on Sunday, with the winner moving on to the Final Four in Colorado.
PINE BANKS – The Mystic River Rugby Club (Northeast #1) built a strong 20-5 lead against the visiting Maryland Exiles (Mid-Atlantic #4) but the Exiles showed no quit in the second half. Two yellow card infractions left the Mystics shorthanded and the Exiles capitalized with three quick unanswered tries to take a 22-20 lead with only two minutes remaining in the game.
The Mystics were able to steal possession on the ensuing kickoff and the Exiles gave up a penalty to give the Mystics a kick for the lead… which sailed wide left of the uprights. The Exiles restarted the 22m kick, giving possession back to the Mystics who put together several phases of attack and secured yet another penalty. Given the second chance, Derrick Roma put the kick through with time expired, giving the Mystics the 23-22 win and a third consecutive trip to the USA Rugby DI National Sweet 16.
Mystic River Rugby Club (Northeast #1) will host the Maryland Exiles (Mid-Atlantic #4) this coming Saturday, May 1, at Pine Banks Park in Malden, MA at 1:00PM.
The winner of this match will continue on to the USA Rugby DI Sweet 16 in Columbia, SC.
All of Mystic Nation is encouraged to attend this match to support our club.
The Mystic Old Boys kicked off a rainy day with a tight 8-5 win over their Amoskeag counterparts. Then the Mystic A side played a close fought match with Amoskeag, sealing the victory with two late game tries for a 36-15 final. The Bs had to settle for a 5-5 tie in a shortened 20 minute match.