Life University Athletics

MARIETTA, GA. ---- The Life University men's rugby team answered the call Saturday afternoon with a redeeming 25-10 win over Lindenwood in the D1A College Rugby Quarterfinal.

Lindenwood scored early on in the third minute, but that didn't keep the Running Eagles down as in the ninth minute, the Running Eagles put their first point on the scoreboard with a try from Seth Kramlich. A conversion from Bradley Crane then made the score 7-7. As the Running Eagles kept pushing for another try by staying on Lindenwood's half, a penalty was earned in the 16th minute in which Crane utilized to gain the score 10-7. Lindenwood scored a penalty kick about 10 minutes before half, tying the two rivals.

In a physical second half, Life U stepped up their game and Crane added his second penalty of the match to capture a 13-10 lead. Lindenwood responded with tough defense, but that didn't stop the Running Eagles from scoring another try. Shaun Matthysen broke through Lindenwoods line to score a try and once again, Crane took care of the conversion to put the Running Eagles further ahead 20-10 lead. Lindenwood tried to go for a try, but the Running Eagles kept the ball on the opponent's side for the majority of the game. With solid defense, the Running Eagles held the Lions away from the try line and did not concede any points during the second half. The game wasn't over there though, as with six minutes left on the clock Life U scored one last try, making the score 25-10. As the game came to an end, Life U kept pushing for another try but fell short with a small margin. A few minutes later, the final whistle was blown and the Running Eagles now advance to the semifinals with a 25-10 win over big rivals Lindenwood.

The men's rugby team will return to action on Saturday, April 20th, when they travel to Navy for the Semifinal game.