A summary of last week's game is below. While we lost on the scoreboard - we won a huge victory off the field. Each year the Univ. of Notre Dame Medical Fund holds a massive fundraiser on behalf of doctors working to find a cure for a rare genetic disease that claimed the lives of famed ND coach Ara Parseghian's three grandchildren. Hosted by daughter-in-law Cindi - the ND RFC host an annual match as part of the fund raiser and this year chose BGSU to be the honored opponent. The match was followed by a stupendous banquet and each squad member was given a commemorative Parseghian Cup beanie by Mrs. Parseghian. It was a classic example of how uniquely different rugby is from all other sports as the two teams came together to raise money for this worthy cause.
This game was played as the Parseghian Cup match Friday night at Notre Dame raising money for the Ara Parseghian Medical Research Fund.
Notre Dame scored early off a little bit of broken play. A UND pass went behind some players and Bowling Green's defense over-pursued. Fighting Irish prop Tom Tom Bohman snagged the ball and burst up the middle for about 25 meters before offloading to scrumhalf Owen Portelli, who had worked hard to get there in support, and Portelli finished it off.
Flyhalf Ryan Putka slotted the conversion and Notre Dame led 7-0 after less than four minutes. Bowling Green spent a good portion of the next 12 minutes inside the Notre Dame 22. They ran the forwards hard up the middle and eventually lock James Demetropolis was shoved over the line, but the referee ruled he was held up. So, no try for the Falcons.
Notre Dame was able to clear, and then a holding-on penalty was forced by Putka, setting up a Fighting Irish lineout inside the Bowling Green 22. Notre Dame inched closer and then after another penalty, tapped quickly with loosehead prop Chase Pierce powering over.
Both sides had chances after that but the contest at the breakdown made the game into very much a back-and-forth affair. Finally with less than five minutes left in the first half Putka snaked through a gap and raced 50 meters, selling a couple of sidesteps on the way. He was caught, but the tackle was high and the freshman flyhalf put the penalty over the bar to make it 15-0 Notre Dame.
Notre Dame pressed their advantage early in the second half, Pressure from the Irish forced a penalty. They took the lineout, and a powerful carry from No. 8 Patrick McKenzie got them close to the tryline. Hooker Matt Williams picked up and took it strong to the line to score Notre Dame's third try of the evening.
Putka converted and Notre Dame led 22-0.
Bowling Green responded right after that. They took a lineout off a penalty and then worked the phases. Finally No. 8 Phil Tracey powered to the line. He was tackled as he went over, but the tackle was high and it ended up being a penalty try. Now the score was 22-7.
Scoring slowed down after that. Bowling Green was still plagued by penalties at bad times. Notre Dame put them under the kosh with some good, hard running and nice offloads down the sideline. But being over-eager in trying to get the turnover the Falcons were penalized, giving UND another attacking lineout. The forwards bashed it close and then off the ruck Bohman made it a try for every front-rower. Putka converted to make it 29-7.
"Credit to BGSU, we have a great deal of respect for Roger and Tony and the program they have there. They're always a physical side that is capable of playing and expansive game," added Hickey, who pointed to that long defensive stand in the first half which ended with the ball held up, and then was turned around into a try moments later for Notre Dame, as a key turning point.
That try, he said, "felt like a big momentum shift," as it turned the score from potentially 7-7 to 12-0. "I felt like we were able to keep control of the match from that point on. But again, credit to our defense who was under a ton of pressure in the second half with a lot of territory and possession for Bowling Green. It was Undoubtedly our cleanest performance. Finally, executing the basics well, strong play at the breakdown, and a fundamental kicking game contributed to the win. To beat a team like BGSU, who I consider a Midwest rugby blue blood, is a great confidence-booster heading into our fall break and ahead of Big 10 playoffs."
