After Slow Start, Alumni Z-Side Takes Care of Business

After spending a little too much time at the Palms on Friday night, the alumni Z-side came out flat against a young, but game, Cornell A-side. The result was a fast and devastating attack by the A-side backs and a 20-0 lead for the youngsters after only 20 minutes.

The Z-side eventually got onto the board in the 25th minute, making the score 20-5. However, the response from the A-side was quick, and in the 27th minute, they scored again to bring the match to 25-5. With 53 minutes of rugby still left to play, the Z-side looked to be in for a long and painful afternoon.

At this point, the pace of the action was slowed as the Z-side focused on ball control, using a series of rolling mauls and forward crashes to stop the momentum of the A-side. The new strategy worked brilliantly, and with 17 seconds left in the first half, the Z-side scored a try and conversion to bring the score to 25-12. Going into halftime, the Z-side was now in striking distance for a comeback and the A-Side attack was now nonexistent.

In the second half, the match turned in favor of the Z-side in stunning fashion. Led by three trys from JoJo Bucci ('05) and strong runs from eventual man-of-the-match Tim Powers ('05), the alumni scored 42 unanswered points - leaving no doubt who was actually in charge. Those scoring trys included Avi Giladi ('04), Alex Cwirko-Godycki ('04), Eamon Molloy ('05), and Randall "The Goose" Luce ('??). The Z-side was also boosted by strong kicking from Dan O'Connor ('05) and a much needed 2nd half appearance from John Friedman ('07) who flew in from Singapore to shore up the back line.

After the game, both the A-Side and Z-Side enjoyed a healthy chicken wing lunch provided by game sponsor Wings Over Ithaca. As they ate, the second game of the day kicked off.

In game two, the alumni Double Z-side took down the Cornell B-Side by a score of 17-5. The event then wrapped-up with a raucous banquet at the "always classy" Chinese Buffet.