Pelham Youth Rugby’s U15 team defeated Manhattan Sunday with a strong second half performance that saw visiting Pelham score five unanswered tries in the second half to produce an 8-3 win.

The game was played under a beautiful spring sky on Pier 5 in Brooklyn with an amazing view of downtown Manhattan. Pelham had key players missing and got off to a poor start, allowing Manhattan to take an early lead. The score at halftime was 3-2 to Pelham.

After a quick talk at the break, Pelham responded with some aggressive defense and skill out wide to bring the win home. Player of the game was Josh Quinn. Honorable mention went to North Westall, Matt Biskup, Cian Burns, Kevin Ndou, Luke Persanis and Morgan Collins.

In the earlier match, the U13 team played what Coach Matt Persanis described as “their best game ever.”

Pelham lost 6-1 to this team back in November, but this game was different, a back-and-forth affair with the lead changing several times. The game was tied going into the last few minutes when a breakaway run by a Manhattan player edged it for Manhattan 8-7.

Player of the game was Adam Razick, who was a force the entire game with his running, tackling and passing. “Adam had a fantastic all around game,” said Persanis.

Special mention went to last week’s player of the game, Sofia Imperato, as well as Quinn Scanlon, James Bristow and Will Jarka.

The Pelham teams next play Union at Glover Field on Sunday, starting at 5 pm. The middle schoolers will also participate in a flag tournament Saturday on Randall’s Island.