Life University Athletics

ANNAPOLIS, Md. --- The USA Rugby D1 Elite Semifinals saw a rematch between Life University women's rugby and Central Washington, and much like the previous contest it came down to the wire, the Running Eagles holding on to advance to the Championship Game with a 22-19 victory.

 The Running Eagles found themselves on the Wildcat's side of the field over the majority of the first half of play, but mistakes and strong defensive stands by Central Washington saw Life U only come away with a pair of tries. The first score was recorded by Adrionna Duncan on the near side, while the second try was dotted down by the capable hands of Matilda Kocaj. Life U missed on both conversion attempts in the first 40 minutes, taking a 10-0 lead into the break.

The second half played out much more back-and-forth Central Washington recording the first try of the half to cut the edge to 10-5. The Running Eagles responded as Autumn LoCicero got in on the scoring with a try of her own that was followed up by a Jess Keating conversion to boost the lead to 17-5.

A Wildcat conversion and try brought it back to a five-point difference at 17-12, the clock starting to become a bigger factor. Susan Adegoke broke free on a try that ended up providing the breathing room that Life U needed. With a 22-12 advantage, Central Washington threatened late, scoring a try and conversion to cut the lead to 22-19, but the Running Eagles held on to earn the victory.

Head coach Rysard Chadwick broke down how the game progressed. "This was a tough game. We dominated territory and possession in the first half and were unfortunately not able to convert all our chances. On another day it could have been 20-25 to 0 at Half. In the second half CW started to fight back and applied pressure with their kicking game. A few too many errors on our part allowed CW back into the game." 

Chadwick finished by congratulating his team's effort, saying, "Very proud of the efforts on again in what was a very physical match once again against CW. They are not an easy team to beat. Special mention to Sofia, Aliyah and Nicki for their outstanding performance in the front row."

The 15's season has one more contest on the docket, facing Lindenwood in the USA Rugby D1 Elite Championship game on December 3rd.