(Photo courtesy David Orrick, Norwich University)

BURLINGTON, Vt. – Sophomore hooker Seamus Page (Westford, Vt.) scored a try with two minutes left in the match to lift the Norwich University men's rugby team to a dramatic 33-29 come-from-behind victory over the University of Vermont on Saturday afternoon in New England Collegiate Rugby Conference (NECRC) action.

The Cadets (2-1, 1-0 NECRC) have now won two straight matches after downing the University of Maine 29-12 last week.

Page's game-winning try marked the final blow in a see-saw battle that featured seven different lead changes between the two in-state rivals.

UVM rushed out the gate and opened the scoring in the second minute with a try and a successful conversion kick to go up 7-0.

Senior co-captain Matt Maloney (South Boston, Mass.) answered back for Norwich in the 14^th minute to level the score at 7-7 after a successful conversion kick from senior center Long Ding (Qin Dao, China).

UVM regained the lead in the 20^th minute with a try to go up 12-7. However, senior Josh Nowak (Arlington, Mass.) broke through for a try with less than two minutes to play in the first half to knot the score back up at 12-12 heading into halftime.

Norwich kept the momentum rolling in the second half with senior fullback Richard Shear (South Africa) scoring a try in the first two minutes to give the Cadets their first lead of the match at 19-12.

UVM battled back with a try in the 55^th minute and then they regained the lead with another try in the 60^th minute to go up 24-19.

However, Ding scored in the 65^th minute and then added a successful conversion kick to put Norwich back on top 26-24. UVM took the lead again less than five minutes later with another try to go up 29-26 before setting the stage for Page's heroics that clinched the win for Norwich.

Ding went 4-for-5 on conversions which proved to be the difference in the match as UVM only went 2-for-5 on conversions to account for the four-point difference.

Norwich returns home to the NU Dog River Rugby Pitch next Saturday when they host the University of New Hampshire in another NECRC showdown scheduled to start at 1 p.m.

Quick Box Score:

Norwich: 33
UVM: 29
Halftime: 12-12

1^st Half scoring:

2^nd (UVM try) – 7-0 UVM
14^th (Maloney) Ding successful kick – 7-7
20^th (UVM try) – 12-7 UVM
38^th (Nowak) – 12-12

2^nd Half scoring:

42^nd (Shear) Ding successful kick – 19-12 Norwich
55^th (UVM try) - 19-19
60^th (UVM try) – 24-19 UVM
65^th (Ding) Ding successful kick – 26-24 Norwich
70^th (UVM try) – 29-26 UVM
78^th (Page) Ding successful kick – 33-29 Norwich

Conversions – Ding (Norwich) 4-for-5
UVM 2-for-5

B-Side Report: This past Saturday it was UVM, and a true B-side match for the second side Cadets. Throughout the contest the conditions were that of rain and wet conditions, however this didn't slow down Norwich. Playing in UVM's end for almost the whole game the Norwich B-side had two interceptions by winger Curtis Priesing (Attleboro, Mass.), keeping the UVM defense back pedaling. If not for penalties and missed opportunities the second side would have found the tri zone all the more. However, when the scoring opportunities were there it was freshmen Peter Fernandez (New London, Conn.) with the hat trick. Scoring three times for the Cadets off of pick and go play and pressure defense. The only time the UVM side was able to score was off of a break down in play, other than that the Norwich B-side comes away with yet another win 17-5.

-CADETS-