The Massachusetts men’s club rugby team traveled to Boston College to play under the lights at Alumni Stadium on Saturday night and were upended, 25-10, thanks in large part to the unfamiliar playing surface of the turf.

The Minutemen came into the match looking to rebound after dropping their last two contests, the most recent defeat coming against Southern Connecticut by a score of 10-7. It would not be UMass’ day, however, as BC’s 25 points was the highest total for any opponent thus far this season.

“We simply got outhustled, that’s about all I can say to sum it up,” said UMass coach Anthony Neverson. “[BC] was faster than us, they got to the breakdowns quicker and they outmuscled us.”

Sam Grant was able to give the Minutemen life in the early stages of the match, scoring the first try for UMass, but it would be all that the Eagles defense would allow as the Minutemen were unable to push the ball past the goal line for the remainder of the evening.

Despite the results not playing in the favor of the Minutemen, it was not the final score that left a sour taste in Neverson’s mouth.

The match was originally set to be played at 1 p.m. on Saturday at the Eagles’ home rugby pitch, but had to be moved to 6:30 p.m. that evening to be played at Alumni Stadium because the field was ruled unplayable.

With the combination of the pitch being used as a parking lot during football games, BC rugby practices taking place there and the heavy rainfall that occurred throughout the course of the week, it took its toll on the field and called for changes to be made.

Playing at Alumni Stadium meant playing on a field turf surface, which is something no member of the UMass squad had ever been exposed to before. With both clubs being informed of this decision last Thursday, the Eagles were given the opportunity to adjust to the surface a couple days in advance before the match.

Along with that lack of experience, the spikes used on the cleats of the Minutemen were not designed to perform effectively on a surface such as field turf, which is something that Neverson believes gave the Eagles a big edge. Despite his plea to move the match out to Amherst, the decision stood and the Minutemen were left to play with a major disadvantage.

“That turf field is definitely not something that we’re used to,” said Neverson. “If you look at what we normally play on, it is usually more of a grassy, muddy surface. It gave a big advantage to [BC]. That fast style played right into their hands and I think that is what they were looking for. If they played here it would have been a much slower pitch, which would have been more difficult for them.”

Despite BC getting the better of his team in dominating fashion and the undesirable circumstances they were up against, Neverson realized how much there is to be proud of with his team, especially when comparing them to the way the Eagles conduct themselves.

“Between the two teams I would still take my boys over [BC] any day,” said Neverson. “We have more character, we have more heart and we play the game with the proper integrity. We refused to play dirty even when they got chippy. The style of play they employed is not something we do here.”

The Minutemen (1-3) will look to end their three-game skid when they return home this Saturday to play host to Albany.

Nick Canelas can be reached at [email protected].