BETHANY, Okla. — The Life University women's rugby team powered through travel fatigue and rainy conditions Saturday afternoon, rolling to an 85–0 shutout victory over Southern Nazarene.
After an early morning flight and a wet, 55-degree kickoff, the Running Eagles wasted no time setting the tone. Cecelia Rose opened the scoring off a turnover in the first minute, followed by a series of forward-driven tries from Cora Haughey and Mercie Vivao that pushed the lead to 14–0 just nine minutes in. Christina Opeti capped the first quarter with another score to make it 21–0.
Life U continued its dominance in the second quarter with tries from Sofia Fernandez, Hattie Greenwood, and Azhinaye Barner. A late score from Bella Vogel gave the Running Eagles a commanding 47–0 halftime lead.
The pressure didn't slow after the break. Nevaeh Elliott added a pair of tries early in the third quarter before Amenekina Latu, Lissa Salisbury, and Elliott again closed out the match. Vogel finished with a try and went 10-for-13 on conversions.
The Running Eagles were clinical on both sides of the ball, winning 100% of their scrums and stealing 13 from SNU. Life also dominated possession (58%) and territory (65%), with 27 entries inside SNU's 22 leading to 13 tries. Defensively, the team posted a 75% tackle rate while forcing 21 turnovers and limiting SNU to just 42% possession.
Head Coach Ryszard Chadwick noted their mental toughness: "Travel tested us mentally and physically. This team is maturing so well to ignore the noise and focus on the task at hand." He added, "This was shown from the first minute and a super-fast start. We dominated with our scrums and line speed, showing diversity in our playing style. I'm really enjoying watching this team develop."
Despite challenging conditions, Life U's composure and consistency shone through in one of its most complete performances of the season.
