Life University Athletics

The Life University women's rugby team earned two victories on its road trip to the northeast over the weekend. The Running Eagles varsity squad defeated Penn State 29-26 on Thursday, before defeating Army 19-18 on Saturday. The JV team also picked up a victory at Penn State 38-0 to put the team at a 3-0 mark.

In the match against Penn State, Life U jumped out to an early 10-0 lead with tries from Summer Harris-Jones in the third minute and Spiff Sedrick  in the seventh. Penn State responded to take a 12-10 lead heading into the half, and added a pair of tries with successful conversions to lead 26-10. The Running Eagles fought from behind to score in the final 20 minutes as Sedrick and Harris-Jones scored for the second time of the match. Lekia Haynes scored as well with two successful conversions from Whitney Wilson to give Life U the 29-26 victory.

"It was a true test of resiliency today as Penn State is such a formidable opponent and they put us on our heels," head coach Rosalind Chou stated. "We had to regroup defensively and our finishers off the bench really came through at vital moments in the match. Lekia and freshman Susan Adegoke were able to find space on the outside and really stretch Penn State to allow us to get back in the match. Paige Fallon also gave us a great deal of forward play when she got into the match. Overall, we were just so pleased with everyone's efforts until the final whistle."

Chou also mentioned the play of the JV team in the 38-0 shutout over Penn State. She mentioned, "The JV match was a great way for us to get the much needed experience for more of our student athletes, especially those new to Life U. Sam Holmes, Ashley Ward, Hannah Boekelman, Adrionna Duncan, Kailynn Hampton and Autumn Locicero are all freshmen that faced Penn State for the first time in this JV match, and they are coming into the fold nicely."

On Saturday, Life U once again fought from behind to earn the victory over Army. Trailing 8-0 early, Harris-Jones scored her third try of the trip with a successful conversion from Wilson to cut the lead to one ten minutes before the half. Army took a 15-7 lead in the 58th minute of the match, however Jesah Haun scored a crucial try for life in the 67th minute. Wilson again was successful on the conversion to bring the game back to a 15-14 scoreline with Army still in the lead. Army converted on a penalty with eight minutes remaining in the match, however a late score from Ciara Lambert proved to be the difference maker as the Running Eagles earned the 19-18 victory to finish out the road trip.

"This was an exciting finish to our tour, especially since the women had a short turnaround from the Penn State matches and played another grueling 80 minutes," Chou said of the teams' efforts. "This team is demonstrating that they can maintain their cool under pressure, and when it really matters at the end of a match. Our finishes have come on the past two matches and made a big difference. Jessa came through with a clutch late try to put us within striking distance. She's really stepped up this year and our newcomers are really starting to gel with the team."

The women's rugby team will return for home action on Saturday, October 13 for the Alumni Match that will be hosted on Lupo Family Field at 12 PM