“There’s nothing to save yourself for. This is it.” For Coach Matthew Leonard and the Fairfield men’s rugby team, his pregame pep talk could not have been more true. Appearing in the playoffs for the first time in 20 years last Sunday at Vasser College, Fairfield lost in the first round to Rutgers 31-15. Expectations going in were high: Fairfield was going to the playoffs for the first time in 20 years, they were riding the momentum after steamrolling Sacred Heart 56-10 and then following it up the weekend after with a 24-17 come from behind win over Iona to make the playoffs. Captain Eddie Mazzaferro ’08, who along with the rest of the Fairfield ruggers lost to Rutgers on October 7, 28-12, was confident going in, regardless of the obstacles. “I thought we were going to win,” said Captain Eddie Mazzaferro ’08. “We didn’t really leave anything out there; we stepped up our hitting when we had to and our running when we had to.” Leonard, while proud of his team and the heart they showed all season, could not hide a tinge of disappointment. “I thought we would play a little better,” he said. “They played hard, but we were outmatched by a more experienced, better team.” However, Leonard found encouragement in the way his team played, specifically toward the end of the game. “They never gave up,” he said. “In the last 10 minutes, we played the best rugby of the game.” Fairfield conceded three early tries in the first half and found themselves in another position to make a comeback. While it ultimately would not be as it had been against Iona two Sundays ago, Senior Jason Bertoli, who scored before the end of the first half, looked at the season as a whole. “As the season went on, we got closer as a team and beating Iona was really big for us,” he said. Bertoli, meanwhile, acknowledged that the team came out sluggish at first, until “toward the end of the [first half], it [being down] finally sunk in.” Among those in attendance rooting the ruggers on was former coach Tom O’Connor, who left the team following last season. “When I was around these kids, I felt like a kid,” he said. “I’m really proud of their accomplishments.” O’Connor, who acknowledged that it was once again his dream to coach, felt that Fairfield had as good of a chance as any team to win last Sunday. His reasoning was simple: team effort. “They don’t have any single stars, just a good team that plays well together,” he said. Matt Almeida ’11 scored the second try for Fairfield while Tom McClay ’08 scored the third.
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