On Saturday, Nov. 2, Hamilton Men’s Rugby suffered a heartbreaking 22–29 loss to St. Lawrence at home in the Conference Finals. The Exiles, having won a huge semifinals game on senior night vs a tough Clarkson rugby team, carried confidence into Saturday’s game. Despite a 6–1 record entering the game, Hamilton were underdogs looking to avenge their only loss to St. Lawrence.
The game started with instant scoring, with both teams eager to put up points early in the first half. St. Lawrence got off to a quick 3–0 lead, and Hamilton looked to respond. Moving the ball down the field, Bobby Asel ’25 swung the ball out right to Hunter Hoogkamp ’25, who ran down the sideline for Hamilton’s first try, reclaiming the lead, 7–3.
St. Lawrence immediately responded with a pair of penalty kicks, regaining the lead 9–7. Minutes later, Hamilton’s Zach Ransom ’27 performed a high tackle on the opponent, unexpectedly drawing an immediate red card from the referee on a questionable call. As a result, Hamilton would play the rest of the game with one less player. Moments later, Hamilton turned the ball over near their own try-zone, allowing St. Lawrence to score another try, extending their lead to nine.
Seemingly losing momentum, the Exiles looked to score before halftime, ensuring the game wouldn’t slip away. Again, Hamilton moved the ball down the field, where Hoogkamp punched in his and the team’s second try of the match, closing the score to 12–16 going into the half.
The second half started relatively slow, with both teams claiming and losing possession of the ball. St. Lawrence scored another drop goal, extending their lead to seven. Yet again, the Exiles were determined to answer and willfully moved the ball down the field, where Hunter Hoogkamp ’25 scored his third try of the game, putting Hamilton closer, only trailing 17–19.
Momentum started to swing in favor of the Exiles, and their fans were fully engaged in the game, yelling and cheering. Yet St. Lawrence stood firm and continued to respond to Hamilton’s scores. Again, St. Lawrence scored another penalty kick that pushed their lead to 22–17.
The Exiles, continuing to be resilient, pushed the ball back down the field where Hoogkamp received the pass and ran down the left sideline, supposedly for his fourth try of the game. However, the referee called the try back as the pass was deemed forward. Consequently, Hamilton could not regain the lead.
St. Lawrence drove down the field and scored another try, making the score 29–17, with little time left in the match. It looked bleak for the Exiles.
However, Hamilton continued to not give up. With under two minutes to go in the match, Hamilton’s Andreas Matejka ’25 ferociously ran down the left sideline to bring the score within seven points. The Exiles regained possession immediately after, giving them one last chance to tie the game up before the end of regulation.
In a do-or-die situation, Hamilton methodically moved the ball downfield with perfectly executed rucks and breakaway runs. The Exiles and their fans had hope. Hamilton was able to get near the try-zone, but they were eventually stopped by a feisty St. Lawrence defense, and the clock ran to triple zeros. Hamilton came up just short of the try-zone and the win. It was a heartbreaker.
The Exiles had a fantastic fall campaign, ending their season with a 6–2 record. They look to the 7-on-7 spring season, where they will certainly contend for a championship.
