Rowan Ruf Riders fall to Division 1 competitor

Rowan Ruf Riders (10-11) play in tournaments versus some of the best programs in the country. In their last tournament they didn’t play as well as they had hoped. The team has never been to the Men’s Division 1 College Championships and they have something to prove. Being a Division 3 school playing against some of the best division 1 programs is a high feat. Rochester Institute Spudheds (15-12) came out as the 3rd seed in a heavy set Western NY Division 1 Conference. This will be the first time both teams have played each other. The stakes are high, there are 16 teams and one only can make it to the D-1 College Championships in Burlington, Washington to play the top schools in the country. 

April 26th marked the last tournament for some players on the No. 14 Rowan Ruf Riders. In their first game, they played No. 7 Rochester Institute Spudheds. Spudheds came out on top 15 to 9, sending Rowan straight to the losers' bracket. 

Freshman Lucas Thomas was an unsung hero during the game and throughout the tournament. During this game, he scored 4 of Rowan’s 9 points. Chris Cocciadiferro assisted on 2 of them. RIT’s Patrick Collins had a day with 5 scores. 

“ Being able to come in and make a difference in year one with barely any experience has me excited for my years to come. I’m the youngest on the team but I already feel like one of the vets.” Lucas Thomas said. 

In the first half the Spudheds showed their dominance to the Ruf Riders, coming out and scoring 10 to 3. Patrick Collins had 4 with Ethan Iannicelli and Bryce Roman adding two a piece. RIT was going for long plays as much as they could with Rowan stopping them on 4 of 8 attempts. With one of their scores coming from a long stretch of passes. 

Rowan's 2 scores in the first half came from one long throw that caught RIT’s defense off guard and an amazing catch from Senior Brenden Hershman. The other from a long stretch including cuts and acrobatic catches to get to consecutive scores. 

Going into the second half Rowan scored 4 unanswered trying to mount a comeback against a top 10 team in the Northeast Region. Sophomore Logan Trayner and Lucas Thomas both had 2. But for the Ruf Riders it wasn’t enough because in the later half of the game scored 5 more points to Rowan’s 2.

RIT Spudheds advanced to play NYU for a chance to play in Bracket play and a chance to make it to the Championship. But they will need to get past two-time champions Cornell University. 

“ Even though we took a loss I’m not disappointed, we’ve had a lot of growth. We have played great teams and there are a lot more games to play. Right now our goal is to win in the losers bracket for the 3rd straight year.” said Captain Ryan Cook. 

Rowan Ruf Riders will continue to play in pool play but will be added into the losers bracket. A Division 3 program playing against Division 1 competition and being able to hold their weight is an accomplishment in its own right. So, even if its in the losers bracket the Ruf Riders consider it a win.