Men's Rugby Captures Second at 2019 CRC
Men's Rugby / 06.04.19
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. ---- The Life University men's rugby team competed in the 2019 Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championships over the weekend. The Running Eagles earned a 3-0 start in pool play with a captivating 19-17 victory over Cal. The men finished the weekend in second.
To begin pool play, the Running Eagles faced Colorado. With the structure of the tournament being based on point differential, the team needed to score as much as possible with the matchup at Cal looming at the end of the day. The team earned a 36-0 victory in the first match and took down Indiana second 43-7.
The highly anticipated match with Cal had arrived with the Bears jumping out to an early lead 12-5 at the half. Scoring again, the Running Eagles trailed 17-5 with time running out. Masterful passing along the touch-line resulted in a try with two minutes remaining. Life U now trailed 17-12, but the kickoff bounced in favor of Life U. As the bell sounded to notify that time expired, the Running Eagles had to score.
George Phelan completed the offload to
Harley Wheeler who dove in for the try.
Duncan Van Schalkwyk made the conversion to send Life U to the quarterfinals with the 19-17 victory.
In the quarterfinals, the Running Eagles downed UCLA 33-7 and earned a hard fought 19-5 victory over Navy in the semifinals. The championship match put Life U against Lindenwood. The Lions jumped out to an early 12-0 lead, and the early deficit would be too much for the Running Eagles to overcome. A last second comeback was denied as Life U fell in the title match 21-12.
The victory over Cal marked the first win by the Life U 7s team in CRC history.
The photo albums from the event can be viewed here:
Men's Rugby 2019 CRC Final vs Lindenwood
Men's Rugby 2019 CRC Semifinal vs Navy
Men's Rugby 2019 CRC Quarterfinal vs UCLA
Men's Rugby 2019 CRC Pool Play
