ANNAPOLIS, Va. --- On a sunny Saturday morning contest, the Life University men's rugby team recorded a huge 23-20 win over Navy, earning a lead in the first half and holding on in the end to pick up a hard-fought and well-deserved win.

The Running Eagles took no time securing points, electing to kick for points in the second minute as Bradley Crane nailed the kick through the uprights to take the 3-0 lead. The Running Eagles Eagles then scored their first try of the half after battling through a multitude of tackles. Shaun Mathysen eventually tumbled over to score the try in the 10th minute. Crane continued the kicking duties with a conversion to extend the lead to 10-0. Much of the first half continued to play out in favor of the Running Eagles as they further grew the lead in the 22nd minute with sustained pressure and small runs through the teeth of the defense. Tristan Hubsch dove through to score the next try, 16-0. After that, Navy scored the next two sets of points with a penalty try in the 33rd minute and a penalty kick at the halftime whistle. Going into the break, Life U led 20-10. 

In the second half, Navy tabbed their second try of the contest with a maul to cut into the Life U lead, 20-15.  Then, as time dwindled, the Running Eagles were again deep in their defensive third of the field as it was another Navy maul that scored the team's next points. Fortunately for Life U, Navy's conversion sailed wide, resetting both teams with a 20-20 scoreline with less than three minutes to play.

After the reset, the Running Eagles earned a lineout and slowly marched down the field in hopes of Navy overcommitting and conceding a penalty. The methodical approach for Life U paid off, setting up Crane to continue his dominance from the boot, converting the game-winning kick to pick up the hard-fought win over Navy.

Director of men's rugby, Dr. Blake Bradford, spoke on the team's performance in a post-game interview, stating, "First, it an 80 minute effort and Navy's a phenomenal team that has set the standard in the Rugby East, so we knew it was going to be a battle. We had a plan and when we stuck to it, it worked. The boys showed a lot of grit there at the end and we stuck to the plan to squeeze out a win."

Following the varsity program, the ADISI program earned a dominant 61-33 win as Mart Gerritse led the team with four tries while Ignacio Munoz, Kristian Poux, and Mel Tueli all tabbed one. Asaru Holloway scored the other two tries and Joshua Spence was an impressive 8/9 with conversions. 

Up next, the men's rugby team has a week off before traveling to face Queens the University of Charlotte on November 2nd.