Lindenwood had earned two wins against Davenport in Mid-South Conference match-ups earlier in the season, but it took a late rally to steal a 21-17 victory in the last meeting earlier in April.  In the quarterfinals of the USA Rugby Division 1A playoffs, the Lions left little doubt about the outcome in a convincing 64-32 win Saturday afternoon at the Lindenwood track. 

While the Lions scored the most points, it was the Panthers who got on the board first to take a 5-0 lead eight minutes into the contest, but Lindenwood answered with four straight tries. Ben O'Donnell earned the first at 12 minutes, and scored again moments later.  Captain Morgan Findlay ran one in after Lunaile Tshuma crossed the line.  Tshuma went 3-4 on conversion attempts and the Lions led 26-5.  Davenport took advantage of a penalty kick opportunity, but Lindenwood made it 31-8 on a try from Nicholas Markowski.  The Panthers scored again and the game went to the break at 31-13.

Just like the opening half, Davenport earned the first try of the second half, but the Lions quickly countered with another effort from Findlay.  A penalty try from the Panthers brought them within 13 at 38-25, but that would be as close as they would get the rest of the game.  Lindenwood went on a run with three straight scores, the first from Sebastian Kalm, followed by Alex Augsburg, and Mickey Bateman to open up a 57-25 advantage.  Davenport countered with a try to get back within 25, but the Lions put the game away on the third try from O'Donnell, who tied with Tshuma as the offensive leader with 15 points.  In a balanced attack, six other players scored for the team. 
 
With the victory, Lindenwood became one of three Mid-South teams to advance to the semifinals along with Life University and Arkansas State, but the Lions face a tough match-up against Saint Mary's College, the number one D1A team in the country.  The Gaels rolled through their quarterfinal with a 103-10 win over eighth ranked Santa Clara and only have one loss for the entire season.  To make things even tougher, Lindenwood will have to travel across two time zones to the west coast for the game.  The opening kickoff is set for 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon in Moraga, Calif.  If the Lions can find a way to beat Saint Mary's, they'll play for the USA Rugby D1A Championship May 10 at Stanford University.