On a festive but chilly St. Patrick's Day, the play of Nick Zolikoff stood out from the crowd of 30 young men, just like his red hair against the green turf of Wasmer Field.
The senior notched three tries for the Saint Ignatius A-side rugby squad in impressive fashion, helping the hosts defeat Penn, 26-10.
The Rugby Cats improved to 4-0 on the season with a win in the first home contest of the young spring sports season.
The contest pitting two of the top teams in the nation started off relatively slow. The Rugby Cats controlled the tempo but could not push through into the try zone until Nick Zolikoff touched the ball down with 17 minutes left in the first. The conversion missed, granting the Wildcats a 5-0 lead.
The remainder of the half passed without much fanfare. The two teams committed a host of mistakes typical in an early season match. The Wildcats showed over-eagerness that resulted in penalties and setbacks. One penalty overturned what would have been another Zolikoff try.
With no time left on the clock in the first, Penn took advantage of a pair of Saint Ignatius penalties, kicking for points to end the half.
"I was a little bit sloppy in the first half, but I settled down and tried not to do too much," Zolikoff said. "We were all trying to be a hero, and it didn't work, so we started playing as a team, talking, and settling down."
With just a 5-3 lead, the Rugby Cats fired out to a hot start in the second. Alex Schum stole a restart in the first minute of play. His phenomenal, athletic play resulted in a try along the left sideline. Schum's effort, combined with a Declan Boldy conversion, extended the squad's lead to 12-3.
The hosts did not look back. The Wildcats employed a physical attack, highlighted by a determined Juan Pen. The senior utilized a take-no-prisoners approach at the #4 spot. While Pen did receive a yellow card during the second, his physical play sent a message to the visitors – we will not be pushed around.
Not long after, Zolikoff barrelled through several Penn players into the try zone on a marvelous, momentum-stealing play. Boldy's conversion built the lead to 16 points.
Penn tabbed its first try of the day with 5 minutes left on the clock. Following an excellent kick by Penn, the Wildcats found themselves hemmed in their own zone. Intercepting a bad pass, Penn fell on the ball in the try zone for 5 points. A successful conversion narrowed the deficit to 19-10.
The comeback did not continue. The Wildcats smashed Penn's line and stole the ball away late in the match. Zolikoff stormed into the try zone to push the contest out of reach with under a minute on the scoreboard. Boldy's conversion placed the exclamation point on a 26-10 win.
So, what was the difference between the sluggish first half and the frenetic second?
"We settled down and played our own game instead of trying too much," said Zolikoff said. "We started reading the defense and getting used to what they were doing, and adjusting to how they were attacking us."
Beyond Zolikoff, the Wildcats received great play from their big men. Most notably, Juan Pen returned to the pitch from an injury suffered earlier this season, as assistant varsity coach and pack coach Nick DiPietro pointed out.
"It was great to have Juan back. Having him back is a huge help. He was all over the field," DiPietro said. "Carl Felder had a fabulous game today, too. He was all over the field, as well. He had a ton of great poaches. There is still some stuff we need to work on. We'll work with Aidan at 9 – that's a new position for him, so he's still feeling it out. Overall, I was happy with what we were doing."
While the Wildcats' win was sloppy at times, beating Penn, ranked the No. 2 team in the country two weeks ago, is still a big feat.
"On the whole, we did a good job, said DiPietro. "It's great any time you can get a win against Penn, a great program."
No Luck of the Irish Needed: The B-side Cats earned a pair of nice victories at home on Saturday. The squad beat West Shore in the morning, 36-0, to start the day. Then, following the A-side's win, the Saint Ignatius B-side returned to the field and downed Penn's B-side, 21-12. The Wildcats' B-squad will face Rocky River tomorrow at 1 pm.
Back in Action: The A-side Wildcats will return to the pitch tomorrow, hosting West Shore's A-side at 10:30 am. Sean Coleman '19 and Michael FitzGerald '18 will have the call on the SIBN.